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NATIONAL SOCIETY^ 

DAUGHTERS ?/'^^'^ AMERICAN 

REVOLUTION. ^ 



















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MRS. ADLAI E. STEVENSON 



BRIEF HISTORY 

DAUGHTERS of the AMERICAN 

REVOLUTION 






Mrs. Adlai E. Stevenson 

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''Home and Country.'^ 



DAUGHTERS 

of the 

AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



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" An honest tale speeds best being plainly told," 

— Shakespeare, 



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Affectionately Dedicated 

TO 

The Letitia Green Stevenson Chapter 

National Society of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution 

Bloomington, Illinois 



FOREWORD 



As the oldest living President General, in point of serv- 
ice, of the National Society, and the second to hold the high 
office, I deem it not inexpedient to review, in brief, the work 
of the organization. The necessity for a condensed history, 
touching only upon the more important points, has for a 
long time been apparent. My attention has more than once 
been called to this fact owing to the difficulty of obtaining 
easily authentic data. This review is not intended as an 
exhaustive history of the wonderful achievements of the 
"Daughters" within the past two decades. Such a work 
would take more years to complete than remain to me upon 
earth, and tomes of ponderous volumes that no mortal, in 
these strenuous days, could take the time to read. It may 
be that in coming years, when my pen is laid aside and my 
voice is still, that many of the "Daughters" will turn trust- 
ingly tO' these pages for facts, which I shall endeavor to 
make authentic. In a spirit of perfect fairness and entire 
impartiality, at peace with all the world, "with malice to- 
ward none and charity for all," I transmit to the future 
as well as to the present members of the National Society, 
these words of truth, in so far as I have been able to gather 
the facts. It has been my privilege in preparing this rec- 
ord to glean from "The History of the Origin of the So- 
ciety of the Daughters of the American Revolution, au- 
thorized by the National Board of Management, and pre- 



FOREWORD 

pared by Miss Eugenia Washington, and read at the x\t- 
lanta, Georgia, Exposition, October i8th, 1895." 

I have gathered facts and figures from the Smithsonian 
records, the American Monthly Magazine and from the 
"Early History," a booklet issued by order of the National 
Board of Management, November 8, 1908. 

Aside from the splendid achievements of the National 
Society in a material way, there is one feature of its com- 
prehensive work that appeals to me with especial tender- 
ness. The dividing line, which was so pronounced between 
the women of the North, and of the South, following the 
Civil war, has vanished before a fuller knowledge and a 
more generous appreciation of the worth and intellectual 
ability, each for the other. 

Letitia Grken Stevenson, 
(Mrs. Adlai Ewing Stevenson), 
Honorary President General N. S. D. A. R. 

Bloomington, Illinois, October nth, 191 1. 

Mrs. Stevenson is deeply indebted to the State Regents 
for comprehensive and valuable accounts of the work in 
their respective states. O'wing, however, to serious ill-health 
during the past two years, she has, to her great regret, 
been unable to utilize this valuable material and wishes me 
to express her obligation. 

These accounts have been bound and placed in Conti- 
nental Hall for reference. 

Letitia E. Stevenson. 
November i, 191 3. 



INDEX 

PAGE. 

Origin of the National Society of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution 7 

Founders 21 

Administration of Mrs. Benjamin Harrison 27 

Mrs. William D. Cabell, Honorary President, presiding 1892.. 31 

Administration of Mrs. Adlai E. Stevenson, 1893-94, 1894-95.. 34 

Administration of Mrs. John W. Foster, 1895-96 44 

Administration of Mrs. Adlai E. Stevenson, 1896-97, 1897-98. 49 

Administration of Mrs, Daniel Manning, 1898-1901 64 

Administration of Mrs. Charles Warren Fairbanks, 1901-05.. jt, 

Administration of Mrs. Donald McLean, 1905-09 82 

Administration of Mrs. Matthew T. Scott, 1909-11 89 

Mrs. Daniel Lothrop (Margaret Sidney), founder of the Na- 
tional Society of the Children of the American Revolu- 
tion, 1895 106 

Mrs. John Murphy, founder of the Children of the Republic. . 114 

Membership of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 

1892-191 1 116 



Chapter I. 
THE ORIGIN 

OP THE 

National Society oe the Daughters oe the 
American Revolution 



As in the life of every human being, there comes a 
crucial moment when definite action must take the place 
of indefinite purpose, so in the history of each organization 
which has made progress and achieved success, there must 
have been a time of supreme and emphatic assertion. 

It is a recognized fact, that there are unknown and in- 
explicable influences around and about us — that by some 
phsychological phenomena the same thought, and at about 
the same moment may be, and often is, active in the brain, 
and in the purpose of more than one person. 

This unique mental attitude, if it may be so called, seems 
to have been true, and in an emphasized degree, at the 
auspicious hour when the National Society sprang into ex- 
istence, as if touched by a magic wand. 

Not so, however, came life and power to the yet dor- 
mant impulses which were soon to awaken a widespread 
and lasting enthusiasm for active work among the Ameri- 
can women, descendants of heroes who rendered valuable 
service during the War of the Revolution. 

A few earnest women were pondering and planning. 

7 



8 THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 

The public had learned to heed the warning voice of women 
bent upon reform along any line, and when significant words 
were uttered, or suggestive patriotic articles appeared in 
the daily press, they gave pause to many thoughtful men and 
women who had not before realized that reform in patriotic 
reverence and sentiment was an actual need in the Ameri- 
can heart and home. 

Soon this pondering and planning matured and devel- 
oped into full-fledged effort, and the National Society was 
the happy culmination. However, the Daughters cannot 
claim the distinction of being the first to endeavor to per- 
petuate and honor the memory of their ancestors. 

At the close of the War of the Revolution, the Society 
of the Cincinnati was organized, and still exists. 

The first wave of a later day patriotic inspiration, which 
swept from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Seaboard, came 
from the "Sons of the American Revolution," organized in 
California, Ottober 22, 1875, and composed of men and 
women, the latter called the "Daughters of the American 
Revolution." 

"The Sons of the Revolutionary Sires" was organized 
in San Francisco, July 4, 1876. "The Sons of the American 
Revolution" was organized in the east in 1889. 

As early as 1881, I find that there were murmurs of dis- 
content because the women of Revolutionary descent were 
not to be admitted into the "Society of the Sons of the Rev- 
olution," which Mr. John A. Stevens of New York pro- 
posed to organize at that date. It was not, however, until 
1883 that Mr. Stevens effected the organization of the 
"Sons of the Revolution" in New York, and women were 
excluded. So far as I have been able to learn, Mrs. Ellen 



THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 9 

Hardin Walworth was the first to offer strong protest 
against this omission. 

On April 30, 1890, in Louisville, Kentucky, where a 
meeting of the "Sons of the American Revolution" was 
held, a vote was taken which resulted in the exclusion of 
women; and there was no hope of reconsideration. De- 
termination and enthusiasm, such as only women can know 
and express, was aroused. It did not take long for the 
patriotic zeal to kindle into a sweeping flame. Indeed, the 
smouldering embers of a renewed and enlarged patriotic 
sentiment had been manifesting themselves in various forms 
for years. 

It became apparent that if the women were to accom- 
plish any distinctive patriotic work, it must be within their 
own circle, and under their own leadership. The ardor and 
zeal of a few undaunted women never flagged, and their 
determination to organize a distinct woman's society be- 
came a fixed purpose. 

The first published appeal to the American women was 
in the form of a Review of the old Revolutionary story 
"Hannah Arnett's Faith," written by Mrs. Mary S. Lock- 
wood, and printed in the Washington Post, July 13, 1890. 
This article aroused very general interest and attracted 
the attention of Mr. William O. McDowell, the great great 
grandson of Hannah Arnett. 

The first step toward organization was a letter written 
by Mr. McDowell and published in the Washington Post, 
July 21, 1890, which is as follows: 

"Editor Post: I have just read with a great deal of 
interest the article in your paper of recent date on 'Women 
Worthy of Honor' 



10 THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 

"To me came the thought that it was the women of 
America that finished the Bunker Hill Monument; that it 
was the women of America that had formed the Mary 
Washington Association to finish the monument to Mary, 
the mother of Washington; that while patriotic undertak- 
ings sometimes have had to turn to Government for a fin- 
ishing appropriation in the hands of men, in the hands of 
women of America, patriotic undertakings have never 

failed I invite every woman of America who has the 

blood of the heroes of the Revolution in her veins to send 
me her name and address So soon as I can intelli- 
gently issue the invitation, a national committee will be ap- 
pointed to invite a meeting in Washington, D. C, for or- 
ganization by the adoption of a national constitution and 
the election of a board of officers, when I will pass the work 
entirely out of my hands into those of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, 

William O. McDowell, 
20 Spruce St., Newark, N. J." 

Miss Eugenia Washington, Miss Mary Desha, Mrs. 
Hannah McLaren Wolff, Mrs. Louise K. Brown, and Mrs. 
Mary Morris Hallowell, all of Washington, and Mrs. Roger 
A, Pryor, of New York, answered the call. 

Mr. McDowell replied promptly to Miss Desha, enclos- 
ing the addresses of those whose letters had reached him, 
and suggesting that a meeting be called at once for organi- 
zation, election of officers, etc., and arrangements made for 
a mass meeting on October nth, the anniversary of the 
discovery of America. Miss Desha notified the others. The- 
first meeting was held at the house of Mrs. Louise K. Brown 
in the last week of July, 1890. Five were present. Miss 



THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 11 

Washington, Miss Desha, Mrs. Wolff, Mrs. Brown, and \ 
Mrs. Ellen H. Walworth. After an informal conference, 
it was decided to defer action until autumn, and Mr. Mc- 
Dowell was so informed. But on July 30 he wrote again, 
insisting that they delay no longer. Enclosed in the letter 
were application blanks of the "Sons of the American Revo- 
lution," a constitution largely a copy of theirs, a plan of or- 
ganization and his own application for membership with a 
check for fees and dues. As it was to be a society of wo- 
men, the application was not acted upon, or the money 
drawn. The check is preserved and will have a place in 
Continental Hall. 

Upon receipt of this letter from Mr. McDowell another 
meeting was called at the Langham in the apartments of 
Mrs. Walworth, August 9, 1890. 

The call for this meeting August 9, 1890, was responded 
to by the three founders only — Miss Washington, Miss 
Desha, and Mrs. Walworth. The mooted question as to 
whether Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood was a founder has been 
definitely settled, and for all time, by Mrs. Lockwood her- 
self. At the meeting of the National Board of Manage- 
ment, November, 1908, the following resolution was offered 
and adopted : 

"That the President General appoint a committee of 
three to prepare from the highest official sources, such a his- 
tory, and that the National Board authorize its printing and 
distribution to every National officer. State Regent, and 
Chapter Regent of the Society." 

This motion, presented at the November meeting of the 
National Board, D.A.R. , contains the reason for a history 
that will be available for the entire society. Its adoption 
by that body gives the authority for its publication and dis- 
tribution. 



12 THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 

The result of the adoption of this resolution was the 
publication of the booklet called ''Early History," which 
contains the following authentic statement signed by Mrs. 
Mary S. Lockwood, as well as by the two founders and other 
members of the First National Board of Management: 

"As the meeting of August 9 was one of preliminary 
organization where officers were appointed and a constitu- 
tion adopted, it is a simple matter of law that the existence 
of the Society began at that time. This was recognized by 
the Congress of 1898, which declared Miss Eugenia Wash- 
ington, Miss Mary Desha, and Mrs. Ellen Hardin Wal- 
worth, the founders of the organization, awarding them 
medals as such. 

"Realizing the fact that before many years the first 
workers in this great society will pass away, and with them 
all opportunity for securing the true history of these early 
years, we, the officers of the First National Board, desire to 
declare the truth of the foregoing history and herewith sign 
our names." (Signed) 

Eugenia Washington 
Mary Desha 
Mary V. E. CabelI/ 
Mary E. McDonald 
Mary S. Lockwood 
Heeen M. Boynton 
Aeice M. Clark 
Mary H. L. Shields 
Frances B. Hamlin 
Lelia Dent St. Clair 
Henrietta Nesmith Greely 
Sue Virginia Field 
Sally Kennedy Alexander 



THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 13 

As there is still misconception regarding the four med- 
als awarded in the Congress of 1898 to Miss Washington, 
Miss Desha, Mrs. Walworth and Mrs. Lockwood, it is 
proper to state here that when in the Congress of 1897 a 
resolution was offered that medals be awarded the three 
founders, an amendment was carried that Mrs. Lockwood 
be considered a founder on account of her letter of July 13, 
1890. A committee was then appointed to have the four 
medals prepared and report the following year. In the 
meantime the question arose as to the propriety of giving a 
founder's medal to any but the three women who had 
founded the society. This discussion resulted in having the 
fourth medal changed to commemorate the service for which 
it could properly be presented, namely : Mrs. Lockwood's 
letter of July 13. The Congress of 1898 approved this 
action, awarding her a medal for special service through 
the press, and Mrs. Lockwood endorsed the action of the 
Congress. (Signed) 

He^len M. Boynton, Chairman 
BZhh MerrilIv Drapdr 
Elizabeth M. Bowron. 

Signed by the two living founders, 
Mary Desha 
Eli^En Hardin Wai^wgrth." 

It was then and there, August 9, 1890, that the organi- 
zation, now so splendid in every branch of its development, 
was effected. 

No one who has not felt the depressing, wilting heat of 
a summer day in Washington, can quite realize the courage 
in calling a meeting of any kind in August, in the then 
almost forsaken Capitol. Nothing daunted by the absence of 



14 THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 

all Other invited guests, these three ladies, Miss Washing- 
ton, Miss Desha and Mrs. Walworth, proceeded to effect an 
organization and appointed a Board of Management as fol- 
lows : Miss Eugenia Washington, Miss Mary Desha, Mrs. 
Ellen H. Walworth, Mrs. Mary Orr Earle, Mrs. Hannah 
McLaren Wolff, Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, Mrs. Louise 
K. Brown, Miss Sophonisba P. Breckenridge and Miss Vir- 
ginia Grigsby. Miss Desha was chosen Chairman, Mrs. 
Walworth, Secretary, and Miss Washington, Registrar. It 
was decided to secure, if possible, Mrs. Benjamin Harrison 
for President. The next day, August lo, a letter was sent 
to her requesting that she accept that office. 

The three founders from that date, August 9, 1890, 
never faltered in their work of completing the organization 
thus happily launched. 

"A notice was published in the Washington Post of 
August 18, 1890, stating the purpose of the society, and the 
eligibility clause, and requesting women of Revolutionary 
descent to send their names to the Registrar, Miss Washing- 
ton, at her residence, 813 13th Street. 

Eighteen women signed the formal draft of organiza- 
tion in the following order : Miss Eugenia Washington, 
Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, 
Mrs. Mary Morris Hallowell, Miss Susan Rivere Hetzel, 
Mrs. Margaret Hetzel, Mrs. Mary V. E. Cabell, Mrs. Mary 
S. Lockwood, Mrs. Alice Morrow Clark, Miss Pauline Mc- 
Dowell, Mrs. Ada P. Kimberley, Mrs. Aurelia Hadley 
Mohl, Miss Floride Cunningham, Mrs. Caroline L. Ransom, 
Mrs. Emily Lee Sherwood, Mrs. Harriet Lincoln Coolidge, 
Mrs. Jennie D. Garrison, Miss Mary Desha, Secretary pro 
tern. 



THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. IS 

Mr. McDowell presided and prepared motions which 
were presented by members and adopted. 

The formal organization of the Society is officially dated 
October ii, 1890, the meeting having taken place at the 
home of Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood, at Strathmore Arms, on 
Saturday afternoon. The constitution, which had already 
been revised, was submitted and adopted. The appointment 
of Mrs. Benjamin Harrison as President General at the 
meeting of August 9 was unanimously confirmed. The 
Smithsonian reports give the following board as having 
been elected on October 11, 1890: 

President Generae 
Mrs. Benjamin Harrison 

Vice-President in Charge oe Organization 
Mrs. Flora Adams Darling 

Vice Presidents General 

Mrs. Wm. D. Cabell Mrs. H. V. Boynton 

Mrs. A. W. Greeley Mrs. P. P. Sinclair 

Mrs. G. Browne Goode Miss Mary Desha 

Mrs. Wm. C. Winlock Mrs. David D. Porter. 

Secretaries General 

Mrs. Ellen H. Walworth Miss Mary Orr Earle, 

succeeded by 
Miss S. P. Breckinridge. 

Registrars 
Miss Eugenia Washington Mrs. Alice M. Clarke 



16 THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. ' ' 

Trejasurer 
Mrs. Marshall McDonald. 

Historian 
Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood. 

Surgeon Generai, 
Miss Clara Barton. 

Chaplain Generai, 
Mrs. Teunis Hamlin. 

Executive Committee 

Mrs. Cabell Mrs. McDonald 

Miss Washington Mrs. Hetzel 

Miss Desha Mrs. Lockwood 

Mrs. Walworth. 

An Advisory Board of six gentlemen was elected, 
namely: Professor G. Browne Goode (President of the 
Sons of the American Revolution), Professor W. C. Win- 
lock, Mr. Wm. G. McDowell, Gen. H. V. Boynton, Gen. 
Marcus J. Wright, and Mr. W. L. Gill. A motion was 
carried that the election of the first Board of Management 
be deferred to an adjourned meeting to be held at the resi- 
dence of Mrs. William D. Cabell, October i8. At this meet- 
ing of October the i8th, the colors of Washington's staff 
(dark blue and white) were chosen for the rosette, and a 
seal and motto were decided upon. The motto "Amor 
Patriae," proposed by Mrs. Walworth, was adopted on 
November nth, 1890, and was changed to "Home and 



THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 17 

Country" on December ii, 1890, in deference to Mrs. Darl- 
ing, who preferred it. On November 11, 1890, at a meeting 
held at Mrs. Cabell's house, Mrs. Harrison presiding, the 
Society accepted the seal already proposed. The seal, bear- 
ing the figure of Abigail Adams in costume of 1776 and 
seated at a spinning wheel, was suggested by Miss Mary 
Desha. The design presented and assigned to the Daugh- 
ters, was suggested to Dr. Goode by an old spinning wheel 
belonging to his grandmother now deposited in the National 
Museum. Mrs. Simon Bolivar Buckner, of Kentucky, Mrs. 
Adams, of Massachusetts, and Mrs. Henry, of Virginia, 
were nominated as State Regents. The clause "Mother of a 
patriot," was added to the eligibility section of the constitu- 
tion under a motion by Miss Desha, and at the suggestion of 
Professor Goode that "by this means the mothers could be 
honored and patriots having no descendants could be repre- 
sented." Resolutions which were adopted October i ith were 
discussed. The first was offered by Mrs. Harriet L. Cool- 
idge, "That a monument be erected in Paris to the memory 
of George Washington;" the second by Miss Desha, "That 
aid be given to the Mary Washington Association." A third 
was offered by Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood, "That the society 
should secure rooms, and later a fire proof building in which 
to deposit Revolutionary relics and historical papers ;" and 
a fourth by Mrs. Mary McDonald, "That life membership 
dues and charter fees be set aside for this purpose." 

On June 8, 1891, under an Act of Congress, the Na->. 
tional Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution j 
was duly incorporated and later on a charter granted. The | 
signers of the Act of Incorporation were Mrs. Caroline Scott 
Harrison, Mrs. Henrietta Greely, Mrs. Sara E. Goode, Mrs. 
Mary E. McDonald, Mrs. Mary V. E. Cabell, Mrs. Helen M. 



18 THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 

Boynton, Miss Eugenia Washington, and Miss Mary Desha. 
Mrs. Ellen H. Walworth was not in the city and could not 
be reached. 

Now we have the National Society of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution, launched mainly through the in- 
spiration of patriotic women. Established without pre- 
cedent, without a home, without financial backing, and with 
but slight knowledge of parlimentary usage. Its success, 
however, assured, as it was, in the hands of loyal, courageous 
women with a firm purpose and belief in its ultimate estab- 
lishment. 

After the perfecting of the organization on October i8, 
1890, at an adjourned meeting, all the meetings were held 
at the hospitable home of Mrs. William D. Cabell, until the 
removal of the National Board of Management to a small 
office over the old Riggs Bank. . There were monthly meet- 
ings of the Board at which the President General, Mrs. Har- 
rison, presided when able to be present, and in her absence 
Mrs. Cabell occupied the Chair. Perhaps the most notable 
and far reaching of the meetings over which Mrs. Harrison 
presided was that held October, 1891. 

"It has been publicly stated that the office of State Re- 
gent was not created until April, 1891, but the books of 
the Organizing Vice President General showed that letters 
had been written as early as November, 1890, asking promi- 
nent women in different States to serve in this capacity. 
The first five to be confirmed were Mrs. N. B. Hogg, of 
Pennsylvania; Mrs. Joshua Wilbour, of Rhode Island; 
Miss Louise W. McAllister, of New York ; Mrs. De B. R. 
Keim, of Connecticut; and Mrs. Wm. Wirt Henry, of Vir- 
ginia." 

"In October of this year. National Officers and State and 



THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 19 

Chapter Regents were invited by the President General to 
a conference which was held at Mrs. Cabell's house. Mrs. 
Harrison presided. Free discussion was invited and a full 
understanding was reached between the State and Chapter 
Regents and the National Board. An eloquent appeal for 
a Continental Hall was made by Mrs. Cabell. The next day 
officers and members were entertained at a reception given 
by Mrs. Harrison, in the White House. This was the 
first official recognition of the Daughters in Washington. 

There is no one held in more grateful remembrance by the 
whole National Society than Mr. Wm. O. McDowell. His 
name is indissolubly associated with the Organization, and 
the Daughters, so long as the Society exists, will hold in 
sacred memory his patriotic efforts in their behalf. His life 
has been spent in promoting historic enterprises. Through 
his effort the money was raised to complete the pedestal of 
the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. He assisted in 
organizing the societies of the Sons of the American Revo- 
lution and the Daughters of the American Revolution; and 
after great effort succeeded in "placing a flag on the highest 
point of the New Jersey coast, 'Never-Sink Heights'." While 
it was a woman, Mrs. Madge Morris Wagner, of San Diego, 
California, who originated the thought of sending the new 
Liberty Bell around the country, and "most of the work 
was done, and the money contributed and collected by 
women, all honor should be given Mr. Wm. O'. McDowell, 
who, by energy, patriotism and untiring devotion, made a 
dream a reality." 

This brief review would be incomplete without reference 
to the valuable services of Honorable George H. Shields, of 
St. Louis. General Shields was Assistant Attorney General 
during President Harrison's administration, and was living 



20 THE ORIGIN OF THE D.A.R. 

in Washington during the pioneer period of the organization 
of the Daughters of the American Revolution. He was se- 
lected by the National Board of Management as its legal 
adviser, and to him was wisely committed the work of 
amending the Constitution. It is just to General Shields to 
state that comparatively few amendments have been adopted 
since his careful revision, about nineteen years ago. For 
such invaluable services he has the grateful thanks of more 
than 86,000 patriotic women. 

There are many other names which should appear upon 
the Roll of Honor of those who gave material and efficient 
aid during the early days of the history of the National 
Society, and which should not be omitted : Judge John 
Goode; Dr. Browne Goode; General Joseph C. Breckin- 
ridge ; Mr. A. Howard Clark ; Colonel Marshall McDonald ; 
General A. W. Greeley; and General Henry V. Boynton. 
Special mention should be made of Dr. Browne Goode, 
whose suggestive brain gave to the Daughters their beautiful 
insignia, a copy of his grandmother's spinning wheel, uni- 
que and most appropriate in its design. He died September 
6, 1896, at his home, Launer Heights, Washington, D. C, 
beloved, respected and lamented by every Daughter. 

The National Society was great in its inception; was 
great in its organization; has been great in its achieve- 
ments, and its future is great in promise. 



Chapter II 

THE FOUNDERS. 

In taking a rapid, backward g-lance, it would seem as 
though unusual wisdom and guidance had been granted those 
whose privilege it was to formulate and bring to happy 
conclusion the now well established organization of, the 
National Society. 

It was a remarkable coincidence that the three recog- 
nized founders, Miss Eugenia Washington, Miss Mary 
Desha, and Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, should all have 
been descendants of families distinguished in the annals of 
American history. 

These women were of an unusual type and rarely 
gifted. Their patriotism was beyond question. With keen 
insight into the need of a prompt awakening in American 
patriotic sentiment, they entered upon the uncertain path- 
way of stimulating reverence for the memory of the heroes 
and heroines of the Revolutionary War; the men and women 
who, amid indescribable suffering and personal sacrifice, 
freed the Colonies from British rule and secured for us and 
our posterity for all time, the blessings of liberty in the 
highest sense. 

They possessed in eminent degree the strong and sturdy 
characteristics of their forbears, courage, persistence, be- 
lief in themselves, and faith in whatever cause they espoused. 
They have each given with unstinted hand of all they pos- 
sessed, — of time, of strength, of means, — to the establish- 

21 



22 THE FOUNDERS 

ment and promotion of the National Society. Their services 
can not be computed by figures or in dollars or cents, but 
the monument of their works will be ever enduring. 

Miss Eugenia Washington. 

Miss Washington was the great granddaughter of 
Colonel Samuel Washington, the brother of General George 
Washington. She had the courage of her convictions, and 
nothing could swerve her from the course she deemed right. 

She would willingly have sacrificed life, and all that she 
held most dear, for a settled principle. The whole history 
of her brief stay among us proved her fidelity to friends and 
the cause she loved. 

Miss Washington's number is No. i in the National 
Society; so her name rightfully, and forever, stands at the 
head of the list. 

She was the first to reply to the letter of Mr. William O. 
McDowell to his appeal for the women to organize a separate 
society ; was the first Registrar General, and signed the 
formal draft of organization August i8, 1890, and was also 
one of the signers of the Act of Incorporation June 8, 1891. 
She filled many places of trust and responsibility on the 
National Board of Management. In 1898 she was awarded 
a gold medal as one of the founders of the National Society 
and was made Honorary Vice President in 1895. 

Beloved by a host of friends, honored and lamented by 
the Society she was largely instrumental in establishing, she 
died in Washington, D. C, on Thanksgiving Day, 1900. 

Miss Mary Desha. 

Miss Desha came from a long line of distinguished 
Revolutionary soldiers and statesmen. 



THE FOUNDERS 23 

In a letter to Mr. William O. McDowell, she gives her 
ancestry in the following words : "My grandmother was 
the granddaughter of Col. John Montgomery, a Colonel in 
the Revolutionary Army, and my grandfather. Gen. Joseph 
Desha, of Kentucky, was the grandson of Joseph Wheeler, 
who served with Braddock as lieutenant, and was after- 
wards a soldier in the Revolution. My grandfather was 
with Mad Anthony Wayne in the Northwestern campaign 
and commanded the lek wing of General Harrison's army at 
the Battle of the Thames. So you see I come of good old 
fighting stock, and it has made my blood boil whenever I 
have seen the 'button' worn by the 'Sons' and felt I was 
left out because I happened to be a woman." 

Miss Desha was a forceful and emphatic speaker, of 
striking and handsome appearance, and inherited the intel- 
lectual power and marked personality of her ancestors. 

She was the author of the resolution : "That aid be given 
to the Mary Washington Association ;" was one of the eigh- 
teen women who signed the formal draft of organization, 
and the Act of Incorporation, and was one of the compilers 
of the booklet "Early History," published by order of the 
National Board of Management November, 1908; chairman 
of the first Executive Committee, and was elected Secretary 
pro tern of the historic meeting of August 11, 1890. She 
was the first Vice President General. 

She was made Honorary Vice President in 1895 and 
was awarded a gold medal as one of the founders in the 
Continental Congress of 1898. 

Miss Desha died in Washington, D. C, January 29, 
191 1. Upon receipt of the news of her sudden death, the 
President General, Mrs. Scott, ordered the flag on Memorial 
Continental Hall to be placed at half mast. The body was 



24 THE FOUNDERS 

removed from her home to Memorial Continental Hall, 
where the funeral services were conducted in a solemn and 
impressive manner. Rev. Dr. Wood, Pastor of the Church 
of the Covenant, and Dr. Taylor, Pastor of the Southern 
Presbyterian church, officiated. The Marine band played 
several national airs, and the auditorium was beautiful with 
flowers and flags. The remains were accompanied to Ken- 
tucky by Colonel William McDonald, one of the founders 
of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Mrs. F. M. 
Emmart. The last sad rites, which took place in the First 
Presbyterian church in Lexington, Kentucky, were largely 
attended by Miss Desha's old acquaintances, the Lexington 
Chapter D.A.R., the Bryan Station Chapter D.A.R., Sons of 
the American Revolution, and the United Daughters of the 
Confederacy. She rests among her kindred in the beautiful 
cemetery at Lexington, Kentucky. 

Mrs. ElIvEn Hardin Wai^wgrth. 

Mrs. Walworth is the daughter of Colonel John J. 
Hardin, of Illinois, who fell while gallantly leading his 
regiment at the Battle of Buena Vista. 

Colonel Hardin was one of an illustrious family ; was a 
representative in Congress, and the son of Martin D. Hardin, 
for many years an eminent Senator in Congress from Ken- 
tucky. Mrs. Walworth is a woman of unusual beauty and 
attractiveness in person and in manner. 

She is also a writer of many channing works upon 
historic and patriotic subjects; was the first editor of the 
official organ of the National Society, the American 
Monthly Magazine, and served as editor from the spring of 
1892 until July, 1894. The resolution which resulted in the 



THE FOUNDERS 25 

establishing of the American Monthly Magazine was pre- 
sented by Mrs. George H, Shields and adopted by the Na- 
tional Board of Management May 7, 1892. 

It was Mrs. Walworth who suggested the idea of having 
the portrait of our first beloved President General, Mrs. 
Benjamin Harrison, painted by Daniel Huntington and 
placed in the White House. Mrs. Walworth's efforts in this 
direction were successful and at the Congress in 1894, a 
beautiful portrait was presented to the Executive Mansion. 

She was the first Recording Secretary General and was 
made Honorary Vice President General in 1894. 

Mrs. Walworth was presented, as Founder, with a gold 
medal in the Continental Congress of 1898. 

Mrs. Walworth lives in the ancestral home at Sara- 
toga Springs. She is rarely absent from the Continental 
Congresses, and is the only Founder still living. 

Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood. 

Mrs. Lockwood deserves more than passing notice from 
any writer of the early history of the National Society. She 
gained deserved fame by awakening renewed interest in the 
heroism of women by her review of "Hannah Arnett's 
Faith." 

The old, old story touched a responsive chord in the 
breast of many American women whose thoughts had 
been aroused to the necessity of a newer, broader patriotism, 
and to the belief that women alone could, and must, do the 
awakening. 

Mrs. Lockwood was one of the eighteen women who 
signed the formal draft of organization ; she also signed the 
Act of Incorporation ; was the first Historian General ; and 



26 THE FOUNDERS 

the second editor of the American Monthly Magazine, and 
served in that capacity from July, 1894, to July, 1900. She 
is a facile writer and from her pen have come many delight- 
ful articles published in the American Monthly Magazine 
and in other periodicals. She has served on the Board of 
the General Federation of Women's Clubs most acceptably. 
Mrs. Lockwood is now, 191 o, Regent of the Mary Wash- 
ington Chapter, District of Columbia, which is distinguished 
for never having fallen below 200 members ; two have been 
President's General, Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Foster. 

Many National Officers and Chapter Regents have come 
from the Mary Washington Chapter. 

Mrs. Lockwood was made Honorary Vice President 
General in 1905, and was presented "For Service," with a 
gold medal of beautiful design in the Continental Congress 
of 1898. 

On October 11, 1902, Mrs. Lockwood broke the ground 
on which the Memorial Continental Hall stands. At the 
twentieth Continental Congress she was elected State Re- 
gent of the District of Columbia. 




MRS. BENJAMIN HARRISON 



Chapter III 
MRS. BENJAMIN HARRISON. 

First President General. 
Appointed October ii, 1890. 
Elected February 22, 1892-93. 

The appointment of Mrs. Caroline Scott Harrison as 
F'irst President General of the National Society of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution was an inspiration. 
Her acceptance of the high office placed the new enterprise 
upon a safe and permanent basis and brought it before the 
public with the full endorsement of her personal and official 
approval. At the time of Mrs. Harrison's election to the 
office of President General, 1890, she was in failing health; 
the duties of the office even then were exacting and ardu- 
ous, and she did not consent to assume the grave responsi- 
bility until assured that she would be assisted, as far as pos- 
sible, in the discharge of the administration of actual work, 
by Mrs. William D. Cabell. It was a marked evidence of 
the sweetness and beauty of Mrs. Harrison's character that 
under all the trying conditions she should have lent the 
weight of her name, with all that that implied, tO' the fur- 
therance of the cause which she loved, and in which she 
had implicit faith, but which was still untried. As mistress 
of the White House, Mrs. Harrison's manifold duties pre- 
vented regular attendance upon the meetings of the Na- 
tional Board of Management; she was, however, present 

27 



28 ADMINISTRATION OF 

whenever health, and the imperative demands upon her 
time and strength, would permit. Her influence for the 
uplift and advancement of the National Society was always 
pronounced, effective, and cannot be over-estimated. Mrs. 
Harrison, with a peculiar charm of manner, delivered the 
address of welcome before the First Continental Congress, 
February 22, 1892, in the Church of Our Father, and pre- 
sided during the morning session. At this Congress Mrs. 
Harrison was elected President General for a second term, 
and if her life, so precious to the Daughters, had been 
spared, her term of ofifice would undoubtedly have been 
without limit. 

It was my privilege to have known Mrs. Harrison dur- 
ing General Harrison's term as United States Senator from 
Indiana. I was greatly impressed with her quiet dignity, 
blended with cordiality, and felt sure that behind the calm 
exterior there was force of character and decision which 
could be felt if occasion required. Mrs. Harrison was a 
woman of rare refinement and culture. She was a philan- 
thropist in the highest sense of the term, and a leader in 
the benevolent and charitable movements of the day in her 
home, city, and state. She was a prominent member of 
many literary clubs, was an artist of decided ability, and 
above all, was a devoted Christian woman, a genuine home- 
maker and home-lover, the highest tribute that can be paid 
a woman. Her influence for lofty endeavor and attain- 
ment was felt in every community where she chanced to be, 
and in none was it more pronounced than in Washington 
while she was the beloved mistress of the Executive Man- 
sion and the First Lady of the land. Her memory is re- 



MRS. HARRISON 29 

vered by all who knew her, and her quiet womanhood lives 
as a beautiful example of an elevated and exalted character. 

Of Mrs. Harrison it can truly be said, that 

"She knew not the art of ill doing, 
Nor dreamed that any did." 

From the Smithsonian reports it seems that : "The very 
first record of patriotic work done by the National Society, 
D.A.R., appears in the record of the meeting of the organ- 
ization, itself, held October ii, 1890, when a resolution 
was passed, expressing the approval of the Society of a 
bill then before the Congress of the United States for the 
marking of historic spots, and the first work suggested by 
the young Society at this time was the raising of funds to 
aid the National Mary Washington Memorial Association. 

"This work was, however, not pressed until December, 
1 891, when it was voted to send out a statement of the 
D.A.R. interest therein to each member, requesting contri- 
butions." 

This work was carried on with zeal and success during 
Mrs. Harrison's administrations. 

From the memoirs of Mrs. Harrison, written by her 
close friend, Mrs. C. C. Foster, First State Regent of In- 
diana, I quote the following : "Mrs. Harrison gave the first 
reception to the Congress in the White House. It was un- 
doubtedly Mrs. Harrison's leadership and powerful influ- 
ence that gave the National Society the great prestige it has 
held from the beginning. It was at this Congress, over 
which Mrs. Harrison presided, that the idea of a Continen- 
tal Hall was first broached. She was deeply interested in 
the idea of a national building for the Daughters of the 



30 ADMINISTRATION OF MRS. HARRISON 

American Revolution. This was in February, 1891. In 
February, 1892, one of the last occasions upon which Mrs. 
Harrison appeared in public, was the reception she and 
General Harrison gave to the Sons and Daughters of the 
American Revolution. She wore an elegant pearl white 
satin gown, and was very gracious and courteous." This 
was the first official social recognition of the Daughters in 
Washington. 

It was an inexpressible sorrow to every member of the 
National Society that failing health prevented Mrs. Har- 
rison from active service after the early spring of 1892. 
Enshrined in the hearts of a loyal nation, on October 25, 
1892, in the White House, her gentle spirit passed to its 
eternal rest. 

"Death is another life. We bow our heads, 
At going out, we think and enter straight 
Another golden chamber of the King's, 
Larger than this we leave, and lovelier." 




MRS. Vy/ILLIAM D. CABELL 



Chapter IV. 
MRS. WILLIAM D. CABELL 

Honorary President Presiding. 1892. 

It seems eminently meet that Mrs. Cabell should take 
her place among the Presidents General of the National 
Society, although it was not her honor at any time to have 
been elected to the high office. It is, however, true that 
during Mrs. Harrison's absence from the First Continental 
Congress, February, 1892, after the morning session, that 
Mrs. Cabell did preside over the remaining deliberations of 
that Congress with ease, elegance and ability. It is further 
true, that as President Presiding she occupied the chair, de- 
livered the address of welcome, and presided over most of 
the sessions of the Second Continental Congress, February, 
1893, Mrs. Harrison having died in the autumn of 1892. 
It was also Mrs. Cabell's privilege, while Mrs. Harrison 
was prevented by long illness from giving close attention to 
the business of the National Society, to guide, with skilled 
hand, the frail bark over uncertain seas. After the ir- 
reparable loss to the Society in Mrs. Harrison's death, 
which cast a gloom over the nation, Mrs. Cabell was in fact 
Acting President General, with the title of President Pre- 
siding, through the Second Continental Congress in Feb- 
ruary, 1893. Under her wise guidance, and with the zeal- 
ous cooperation of an able Board, the interest in the Mary 
Washington Memorial Association grew, the subscriptions 

31 



32 ADMINISTRATION OF 

to the Continental Hall increased, and at the Second Conti- 
nental Congress the membership was 2,760, more than 
double the number of the previous year, with twelve State 
Regents and Thirty-five Chapter Regents. Mrs. Cabell was 
the first to make a spirited speech in the interest of the 
Continental Hall, and to urge the imperative necessity of 
securing an abiding place for the Daughters. With her as- 
tute intellect and keen discernment, her prophetic vision 
saw somewhat of the marvelous growth and phenomenal 
development of the new patriotic undertaking, and she real- 
ized that like all other enterprises, the need of a home or 
house was urgent. It would not be possible for the Daugh- 
ters to re-pay or wholly estimate Mrs. Cabell's all-compre- 
hensive efforts in their behalf; faithfully and with marked 
ability she followed the precepts and example of our First 
beloved President General. At the time of the organiza- 
tion of the National Society Mr. and Mrs. Cabell were 
conducting a large and successful fashionable school for 
girls in Washington. The daughters of many eminent 
statesmen were their pupils. The advantages were unusu- 
al and every opportunity was given the young ladies to 
gain an insight into the official life of Washington and to 
meet with distinguished people from every part of the 
world. With generous hospitality Mrs. Cabell opened her 
home to the Daughters, and at all hours of the day or night, 
gave them cordial welcome. All the early meetings of the 
National Board of Management were held at her beautiful 
home on Massachusetts Avenue, until a small office was se- 
cured at 1505 Pennsylvania Avenue, probably in the latter 
part of 1892. February 22, 1892, marked the beginning 
of the social prominence of the D. A. R.'s. On that even- 



MRS. CABELL 33 

ing, Mrs. Cabell gave the first of a series of elaborate and 
brilliant entertainments. She was an adept in the art of 
entertaining, and no expense or trouble was too great for 
the accomplishment of her successful ambition along that 
line. Mrs. Harrison received the guests with Mrs. Cabell. 
The decorations were most lavish and appropriate, and the 
"distinguished guests, as they entered the flower-decked 
hall, passed through a double line of guards dressed in the 
Continental Buff and Blue." 

At the World's Columbian Exposition, in the Woman's 
Congress, Art Institute, in Chicago, May 19th, 1893, Mrs. 
Cabell presided at several of the sessions of the D.A.R. 
Congress, and on the opening morning delivered an elo- 
quent address upon **The Ethical Influence of Woman in 
Education," which held the rapt attention of the large 
audience. To her enterprise and untiring effort is due 
much of the success of the splendid program, so perfectly 
carried out, and of the D.A.R. exhibit, the first effort of 
the National Society in that direction. 

Upon motion of Mrs. Walworth, the National Board 
of Management created the office of President Presiding 
especially in Mrs. Cabell's honor. It is her's alone, and 
cannot be conferred upon another. 

The title of Honorary President Presiding, was con- 
ferred upon Mrs. Cabell at the Sixth Continental Congress 
in 1898. 



Chapter V. . 

ADMINISTRATION 

OF 

MRS. ADLAI E. STEVENSON 
1893-94. 1894-95 

The close of Mrs. Harrison's administration has aptly 
been called the end of the "pioneer period." 

From 1893 to 1898 may appropriately be designated as 
the formative period. The Organization was in a transi- 
tion state, passing safely from embryo to a mature body. 
The courageous women who had tided the uncertain enter- 
prise over hidden shoals and had anchored it in safe har- 
bor, were, in the main, the active officers who controlled 
the destinies of the National Society, at this date. 

Like the memory of a pleasant dream it all comes back 
to me in realistic form, the first Board meeting over which 
it was my privilege to preside, in March, 1893. Had it not 
been for the kindly services of Mrs. Simon B. Buckner, 
State Regent of Kentucky, I doubt if I could have found 
my way to the little upper room on the second floor, over 
the old Riggs Bank, 1505 Pennsylvania Avenue. A dark, 
steep stairway led to the now historic little chamber. In it 
were gathered the active officers of the Board, a few State 
Regents, and a few Vice Presidents General. The room 
was so narrow that there was barely seating room for the 

34 



MRS. STEVENSON 35 

members of the Board around the long, plain table, which 
filled the center of the room. I was at once impressed 
with the earnestness of the ladies, with their ability to 
plan and execute, and with their willingness to do whatever 
the cause demanded, whether in physical or intellectual ef- 
fort. As I recall these, and later days of those strenuous 
times in the Society's life, I rejoice in the fact that to me 
it was given to have some share in the moulding and in the 
shaping of the character of the Organization as it is today. 
Without hesitation, it gives me satisfaction to state that 
it was then and under the auspices of these persevering, en- 
ergetic and patriotic women that the foundation was laid, 
deep and enduring, upon which the splendid superstructure 
now rests. As the objects of the Organization were not 
fully understood, and there was great doubt as to the ne- 
cessity or advisability of founding a national patriotic so- 
ciety upon purely sentimental grounds (as was said), the 
main object of the active officers during the earlier years 
was to disabuse doubting minds, to overcome prejudice and 
to start Chapters in every State and Territory under the 
leadership of State Regents who were to inaugurate a 
campaign of education. It was a period of committee 
making, both standing and special. Their effort embraced 
the scope of the work as it then existed, and through their 
active endeavor, the National Society was established upon 
a permanent basis. 

The National Society was young, but vigorous, when it 
made its first public appearance away from Washington, 
in the Department of Women's Progress, Auxiliary Con- 
gress of the World's Columbian Exposition, May 19th, 
1893. After a lapse of seventeen years, I feel a thrill of 



36 ADMINISTRATION OF 

exquisite pleasure as I recall the events of that memorable 
and brilliant occasion. The day was perfect, the audience 
immense, enthusiastic, and the interest intense. As the 
President General of the National Society, it was my honor 
to have presided over many of these most interesting meet- 
ings, ably assisted by Mrs. Cabell. Many suggestive and 
historic papers were read, in some instances leading to long 
discussion. Mrs. S. H. Kerfoot, Regent of the Chicago 
Chapter, extended cordial welcome. Mrs. Walworth, in 
her clear style, told of the necessity for an official organ, 
and gave the story of the first year's life of the American 
Monthly Magazine. Mrs. William D. Cabell, in inimitable 
manner, stated the "Ethical Influence of Women in Educa- 
tion." 

"One son at home 
Concerns thee more than many guests to come." 
"Education commences at the mother's knee." 

And sooner or later, the question will come, "Where is 
the flock I have given thee, the beautiful flock?" One of 
the most impressive addresses was delivered by Mrs. 
Joshua Wilbour, and her theme was, "The Continental 
Hall," as it was then called. She took a practical view of the 
needs of the Society and reminded the Daughters that 
they would require "quarters for officers, and a commo- 
dious hall for memorial occasions, committee rooms, and 
some rooms for small gatherings." Mrs. Wilbour, with 
characteristic generosity, urged that the Hall should be 
built large enough to include the Sons, a project which was 
then under consideration. It was her ambition to be able 
to say to visitors to Washington, "This is our Hall, built 
in honor of those who imperiled life and fame and ease 



MRS. STEVENSON 37 

in advance of liberty." Mrs. J. C. Breckinridge supple- 
mented all that Mrs. Wilbour had said in an earnest ap- 
peal for "Our Continental Hall." The words of these 
ladies read like prophecy, so fully and completely have 
their hopes and aspirations been realized. An interesting 
paper was given by Mrs. Mary Duncan Putnam, State Re- 
gent of Iowa. "A National University," was her theme, 
and her appeal was strong, that Washington's favorite pro- 
ject should be carried out and that "the whole institution 
should be established upon a thoroughly non-sectarian basis 
and that the lecture halls should be opened as freely to 
Our Daughters as to Our Sons, so our Daughters may in- 
deed be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a 
palace." With the enthusiasm that characterized Miss 
Desha's every utterance, she addressed the vast audience 
upon The Columbian Liberty Bell. She was appointed by 
the National Board of Management to represent the 
Daughters upon the Columbian Liberty Bell committee, 
and was appointed by Mr. McDowell as Vice Chairman of 
that committee. 

On the afternoon of the 20th of May, General and Mrs. 
Martin D. Hardin gave a charming reception to Mrs. Wal- 
worth and the visiting Daughters. 

The first exhibit of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution was given at the World's Congress of Repre- 
sentative Women. The custom of having D.A.R. exhibits 
at expositions in which the Daughters participated, has 
since been universally followed. There was one at the Cot- 
ton States Exposition, at Atlanta, Ga. ; at the Pan- Ameri- 
can Exposition, at Buffalo; at the Louisiana Purchase Ex- 
position at St. Louis; at the Paris Exposition; at the 



38 ADMINISTRATION OF 

Charleston and West India Exposition, and at the Alaska- 
Yukon and Seattle Exposition and the Jamestown Tri- 
Centennial Exposition, Va., 1907. 

Perhaps in the early days there was no object that ap- 
pealed more directly to the Daughters than the Mary Wash- 
ington Memorial Association, which had from the begin- 
ning been an object of undiminished effort on their part. 
The second recorded resolution, presented by Miss Desha 
and adopted October 11, 1890, and further discussed at the 
meeting of the National Board of Management, October 
1 8th, 1890, when the organization of the National Soci- 
ety was completed, reads: "That aid be given to the Mary 
Washington Association." The prompt and generous re- 
sponse of the Daughters assisted materially in the work of 
erecting the stately monument which marks the grave of 
Mary, the mother of George Washington. It was appro- 
priate that the first great endeavor of the "Daughters" 
should have been in aiding another great woman's organi- 
zation in bringing to happy conclusion their purpose to 
erect a monument to the memory of a woman, by women. 
The Chapters and members at large contributed about 
three-fourths of the $ii,ooo.cx> secured. At length the 
time and occasion had arrived, and the Mary Washington 
Memorial Association had reached its goal. 

The ceremonies attending the unveiling of the monu- 
ment at Fredericksburg, Va., May 12th, 1894, were impress- 
ive beyond compare. The day was as faultless as a "rare 
day in June." The grass was green, the trees were in full 
foliage, flowers bloomed and the birds sang about the spot 
which was at length to be marked by an enduring memor- 
ial. The presence of Mrs. Chief Justice Waite, President 



MRS. STEVENSON 39 

of the Mary Washington Memorial Association, the Presi- 
dent of the United States, Honorable Grover Cleveland, 
and Mrs. Cleveland, the Vice President of the United 
States, Honorable Adlai Ev^ing Stevenson, and Mrs. Stev- 
enson, the members of the Cabinet and the ladies of the 
official household, Mrs. Matthew T. Scott, the present Pres- 
ident General of the National Society of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution, the Governor of the Common- 
wealth and his staff, and the gifted Senator Daniel, the ora- 
tor of the day, all made the occasion one never to be for- 
gotten. All honor to the women who had exerted their best 
endeavor to perpetuate in marble, as well as in the hearts 
of their country-women, the memory of the distinguished 
woman who gave to America its immortal Washington. 

Another event of deep interest during my first two 
administrations was securing the funds to have a por- 
trait painted of Mrs. Harrison. It was in the early days 
that Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth proposed that the Daugh- 
ters should present to the White House a portrait of their 
First President General, as a testimonial of her distin- 
guished services. To Mrs. Walworth must be ascribed 
the credit and honor of securing, by indefatigable labor, the 
life size portrait, painted by the distinguished artist, Dan- 
iel Huntington, and finally placed in the portrait gallery of 
the Executive Mansion. It was my privilege to preside 
over the touching and impressive ceremony of the unveil- 
ing of the portrait, which took place at the "Church of Our 
Father," on the evening of February 22nd, 1894. The life 
size portrait was wrapped in an immense flag, and as the 
Star Spangled Banner floated out on the air, Mrs. Judge 
Putnam, of Saratoga, drew the cord and Mrs. Harrison 



40 ADMINISTRATION OF 

appeared in perfect likeness, while the audience stood in 
silent reverence. When the portrait was removed from 
their presence to its future home in the White House, the 
audience again stood until it passed beyond the portals. It 
is now to be seen in the new Art Gallery erected during ex- 
President Roosevelt's administration. 

There is a subject to which I feel compelled to refer 
briefly. The By-Law^s, Article XI, Section 7, reads : 

"Chapters must not be named for living persons; and 
unless there is good and sufficient reason they should not 
be named for persons who belong to a later historical period 
than the one ending in 1820." 

Since the organization of the Society and during my 
first two administrations there were two Chapters named 
for living persons. The Mary A. Washington Chapter, 
Macon, Ga., was organized October 30, 1893, at the home 
of Mrs. Mary A. Washington, who was the Regent and for 
whom the Chapter was named. 

The Letitia Green Stevenson Chapter, Bloomington, 
Illinois, was presented to the National Board of Manage- 
ment for approval April 17, 1894; organized May 3, 1894. 

The amendment to the By-Laws, which resulted in 
the adoption of the new Article XI, Section 7, was not pre- 
sented to the National Board of Management until June 
loth, 1894. It was not approved until the meeting of 
the National Board of Management in October, 1894. This 
adoption of the amendment took place about a year after 
the Mary A. Washington Chapter had been organized, and 
six months after the Letitia Green Stevenson Chapter, 
(which was named for me), had been organized. So Ar- 



MRS. STEVENSON 41 

tide XI, Section 7, could have no possible bearing on the 
legality of these two Chapter names. 

There has also been a slight shadow as to the legality 
of the name of the Caroline Scott Harrison Chapter. To 
the end that that doubt may forever be dispelled, it should 
be known that the Caroline Scott Harrison Chapter was 
organized February 21, 1894, eight months before the 
amendment went into effect, and this provision of Article 
XI, Section 7, could have no possible bearing upon the name 
of that Chapter. 

The first act which I recall as of vital importance, in 
which it was my privilege to take part, was signing offi- 
cially, an amendment to the Constitution, by which Article 
III, Section 2, as it now stands, was adopted at the Conti- 
nental Congress of 1894, and by which the lineal instead of 
the collateral line of descent, was established. This amend- 
ment was prepared by Mrs. Julia K. Hogg, First State Re- 
gent of Pennsylvania, and was presented to the States and 
Chapters through the National Board of Management, 

Just here I desire to refer to Mrs. Hogg and her be- 
nign influence upon the Board and in the Congress. She 
was a woman of the fairest type of personal beauty; she 
stood before the Board and on the floor of Congress unim- 
peachable in her integrity and with that calm dignity that 
commands respect and holds attention, and at the same 
time wins affection. To me she was a tower of strength, 
a cherished friend, a wise counselor, and where she led I 
could follow without fear. 

This amendment was by far the most important adopted 
in the history of the Organization. It eliminated the clause : 
"Mother of such a patriot," which was misleading and 



42 ADMINISTRATION OF 

"has endangered the genealogical and historical records of 
the Society upon which its noble, patriotic and commemor- 
ative work is founded ; and the effort to honor our mothers 
of the Revolution has, through this clause, failed to be ef- 
fective by the possible admission of members without a 
patriotic ancestor, thus subverting the declared intention of 
the Organization. A loose construction of this clause is 
also calculated to lead the Society away from the objects 
for which it was established." 

This amendment was signed by me, as President Gen- 
eral of the National Society, and by Miss Eugenia Wash- 
ington, Recording Secretary General. 

There has been no Continental Congress since the Third 
that held for me the same unqualified interest. Every face 
was a study, every move an event, every day a page in his- 
tory, and the Congress a sweet memory of womanly cour- 
tesy and womanly forbearance. To the active officers and 
delegates. State Regents and Vice-Presidents General, 
who made the record of those happy days, I owe the recol- 
lection of a bright spot in my official life with the Daugh- 
ters in Washington. It was not within my power to be 
present at the Fourth Continental Congress. Mrs. S. H. 
Kerfoot, State Regent of Illinois, read my address of wel- 
come on that occasion. 

February 22nd, 1895, upon motion of Mrs. Keim, the 
following resolution was adopted : 

Resolved, That this Continental Congress of the Daugh- 
ters of the American Resolution, assembled in the City of 
Washington, District of Columbia, February 22, 1895, does 
hereby create the office of Honorary President General, 



MRS. STEVENSON 43 

Daughters of the American Revolution, to be filled only and 
exclusively by retiring Presidents General. 

Resolved, That Mrs. Letitia Green Stevenson, the re- 
tiring President General, be asked to accept that honorary 
office. 

The increase in membership during the year 1893-94 
was 1,950; during the year 1894-95, 3,488. 



Chapter VI 
ADMINISTRATION 

OF 

MRS. JOHN W. FOSTER 

Pkesident General 
1895— 1896 

It was not as a stranger that Mrs. Foster came to the 
high office of President General of the National Society. 
She had been the happy co-worker and sharer of the hon- 
ors bestowed upon her distinguished husband. At home 
and abroad, she had held prominent official and social posi- 
tions with dignity, and dispensed generous hospitality with 
gracious courtesy. As the wife of the Secretary of State, 
the most important office in the gift of the President of the 
United States, she endeared herself to the citizens of Wash- 
ington, as well as to the members of the diplomatic corps 
with whom the Secretary of State has important official 
relations. 

Mr. Foster was appointed Minister to Mexico in 1873; 
was transferred to St. Petersburg in 1880, and appointed 
Minister to Spain by President Arthur. The official duties 
which pertain to diplomatic positions are often perplexing, 
even annoying. Mrs. Foster, however, was a linguist of 
unusual ability, and was so thoroughly equipped and well 
versed in court etiquette that the social functions proved a 
pleasure. Her perfect acquiescence in every requirement, 

44 




MARY PA.RKE FOSTER 



ADMINISTRATION OF MRS. FOSTER 45 

and the fulfillment of each duty made her an honored repre- 
sentative of the great American republic. 

In reviewing a life so replete with opportunity and rare 
association, it is doubtful if Mrs. Foster can recall with 
greater satisfaction any event than the honor conferred by 
the Fourth Continental Congress in committing to her guid- 
ance the welfare of its multifold interests and obligations. 
With fidelity and ability she pressed forward the work of 
enlarging the membership, and 4,023 Daughters were ad- 
mitted during the year. With special diligence she applied 
her exhaustless energy to renewed effort in the interests of 
the Memorial Continental Hall, and earnestly promoted all 
objects in which the Society was then engaged. During 
Mrs. Foster's administration, Chapters were organized in 
four States where none previously existed, namely, Color- 
ado, Louisiana, Texas, and the state of Washington. 

Perhaps Mrs. Foster's greatest achievement was estab- 
lishing upon a business basis the Society of the Children of 
the American Revolution. This work was proposed by its 
Founder, Mrs. Daniel Lothrop, at the Fourth Continental 
Congress, and under Mrs. Foster's care and encouragement, 
made marked progress. 

It was while Mrs. Foster was President General that 
the Daughters held a series of notable meetings at Atlanta, 
Georgia, in connection with the Cotton States International 
Exposition. It was at that time that the Atlanta Chapter 
received, as a donation from the State of Massachusetts, 
the Massachusetts State Building, "the first Colonial Mem- 
orial Hall acquired by any Chapter." 

It was at the Fifth Continental Congress, Mrs. Foster 
presiding, that Mrs. S. W. White, of Brooklyn, New York, 



46 ADMINISTRATION OF 

presented her strong appeal in behalf of the Prison Ship 
Martyrs of the War of the Revolution. Mrs. White read, 
in detail, the story of the terrible sufferings and death of 
the Prison Ship Martyrs, which resulted in a large and ef- 
ficient committee being formed for the purpose of promot- 
ing the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument fund. 

During the fiscal year 1895- 1896 applications for mem- 
bership in the National Society were received from Gen- 
eva, Switzerland, and reported by the Vice President Gen- 
eral in Charge of Organization. 

A Chapter in Honolulu had been organized, and there 
were resident members in Paris, Naples, Samoa, China and 
South Africa. 

The Continental Congress of 1896 appropriated $100.00 
for the restoration of the embankment at Jamestown, Va., 
thus rescuing from the encroaching waters the first colonial 
settlement on the continent. It was also at this Congress 
that provision was made for a library, a nucleus of one 
hundred and twenty-five volumes having accumulated. The 
ofiftce of Librarian General was created, and Dr. Anita 
Newcomb McGee was the first to fill the position. Another 
great step was taken, looking towards patriotic education. 
State and Chapter Regents were urged to secure legislation 
which might enforce study of text books in the public 
schools which would inculcate higher ideals as to citizen- 
ship. 

It was my great pleasure to have known Mrs. Foster 
most pleasantly for several years, but in a sort of far-away 
Washington fashion which often precludes close friendship 
in the official circle. However, nothing breaks the conven- 
tionalities so quickly as a trip, be it brief or long, as it may 



MRS. FOSTER 47 

chance. And there is no surer place for its annihilation 
than in a launch on the much traversed River Thames. 
With a small party, guests of the eminent scientist, Mr. 
Henry S. Wellcome, we passed through many historic 
scenes, beautiful country estates, villages of thatched cot- 
tages; stopped at the Red Lion Inn, where is still shown 
the pane of glass, in one of the rooms, in which Shenstone 
inscribed his famous lines : 

"Whoe'er has travell'd life's dull round, 
Where'er his stages may have been, 

May sigh to think he still has found 
The warmest welcome at an inn." 

We spent the night at the old Raymead Hotel, at Maid- 
enhead, visited the quaint old church of the Vicar Bray of 
King Charles' time, and the old Alms House, and saw all 
the other places of wonder and antiquity along the famous 
River. The point of greatest interest was Magna Charta 
Island, near the banks of the Runnymede, where centuries 
ago the English Barons wrested from King John the 
Magna Charta. It was then, while enjoying Mr. Well- 
come's munificent hospitality, that Mrs. Foster revealed 
herself to the writer in all the charm of her faultless char- 
acter. 

Mrs. Foster declined renomination, although she was 
the unanimous choice of the Fifth Continental Congress to 
succeed herself. She lives in Washington, D. C. Her beau- 
tiful and hospitable home is the center of a delightful circle 
of friends, and is a veritable mine of oriental curios and 
antiques; she is often present at the annual meetings of the 
Continental Congress, and is always greeted with hearty 
applause. 



48 ADMINISTRATION OF MRS. FOSTER 

The title of Honorary President General was conferred 
upon Mrs. John W. Foster at the Fifth Continental Con- 
gress, 1896. 



Chapter VII 
ADMINISTRATION 

OF 

MRS. ADLAI E. STEVENSON 
1896-97. 1897-98. 

I need hardly say that it was most gratifying to me to 
be called in 1896 again to fill the office of President General 
of the National Society. I entered upon its duties and re- 
sponsibilities with renewed interest, and a fuller apprecia- 
tion of its widening influence and comprehensive possibili- 
ties. 

In Mrs. Foster's able administration, many new under- 
takings had been successfully launched and nurtured, and 
it was mine to endeavor to promote and advance them. The 
work of the National Society is accomplished through com- 
mittees. The President General appoints the committees 
upon authority of the Continental Congress, or by order of 
the National Board of Management. There are always in- 
numerable select committees, appointed by the President 
General, unless otherwise provided for, which cease to exist 
as soon as the committee reports. P'erhaps the most difficr.lL 
and perplexing task assigned the executive - head of the 
Organization is selecting these committees from so many 
equally capable w^men. In the National Society, the com- 
mittees have no official life until approved by the National 
Board of Management. Much of the success of the com- 

49 



so ADMINISTRATION OF 

mittee work depends upon the ability, character and gen- 
erosity of the chairman. No committee exists until called 
together by the chairman, and a Secretary elected from its 
members, if one is necessary. If the Chairman, for any 
reason, fails to call her committee together, Roberts says: 
"It is the duty of the committee to assemble on the call of 
any two of their members." 

During the past year, 1910 and 191 1, there were twenty- 
four standing committees, as I judge they may be called, and 
fully sixty special committees. It is not probable, with the 
rapid growth of the Society, that the committees will be 
fewer, but undoubtedly many more will be added to the list, 
making the work of the President General in, this one di- 
rection alone almost herculean. 

Of course, with the incoming administration of 1896, 
the Memorial Continental Hall was of chiefest consideration 
with the Daughters, and the ways and means for its promo- 
tion uppermost. 

For three years Mrs. Judge Henry M. Shepard, of 
Chicago, had heroically stood at the helm, and guided 
through difficult ways, the slow progress of accumulating 
funds for the one chief object of endeavor, the Memorial 
Continental Hall. So faithfully and efficiently had she 
performed the duties of Chairman that when it became my 
duty to appoint another Continental Hall Committee, Mrs. 
S'Vpard, somewhat reluctantly, consented to serve the Na- 
tional Societ) "^^r the fourth time, as Chairman of its most 
important committee. She is a woman of great executive 
ability, and has the rare gift of presenting a cause in the 
most charming manner. She visited many Chapters in dif- 
ferent states, and by her persuasive and eloquent appeals, 
and with the hearty co-operation of the other members of 



MRS. STEVENSON 



SI 



the committee, succeeded in increasing the permanent Con- 
tinental Hall fund in 1896 and 1897 to $5,772.82, By ag- 
gressive and concerted action, the now historic committee 
assumed a national character, and the scope of the work ex- 
tended into almost every State and Territory in the country. 
This strong committee consisted of the following ladies: 

Mrs. Henry M. Shepard, Chairman. 

Mrs. John W. Foster, Mrs. James S. Peck, 

District of Columbia. Wisconsin. 

Mrs. Joshua Wiebour, Mrs. F. K. Maddox, 

Rhode Island. California. 

Mrs. Wm, Dickson, Mrs. Burdette, 

Georgia. Vermont. 

Mrs. De B. Randoeph Keim, Mrs. Griscom, 

Washington. Pennsylvania. 

Mrs. Stranahan Mrs. S. F. White, 



New York. 
Mrs. a. H. HinklE, 

Ohio. 
Mrs. Tueeoch, 

District of Columbia. 
Mrs. Henry, 

District of Columbia. 
Mrs. Geer, 

District of Columbia. 



New York. 
Mrs. Frances W. Goddard, 
Colorado. 
Mrs. Daniee Manning, 

New York. 
Mrs. Ritchie, 

Maryland. 
Mrs. Fauekner, 

West Virginia. 



Sub-Committee. 
Mrs. K. K. Henry. 
Mrs. Jane S. O. Keim. 
Mrs. Mary Parke Foster. 
Mrs. Miranda B. Tulloch. 
Mrs. Augusta D. Green. 



52 ADMINISTRATION OF 

The efficiency of this sub-committ''e, which was ap- 
jx)inted upon the recommendation of Mrs. Julia K. Hogg, 
cannot be too greatly commended, and its valuable services 
should not be forgotten. Its work was especially in Wash- 
ington City, and directed toward the effort tO' secure a site 
for the Memorial Continental Hall. 

It is to Mrs. Justice Stephen J. Field, that the American 
women are indebted for the thought, the persistent, and 
finally successful eff'ort to secure the funds for the monu- 
ment of Washington, to be erected in Paris, in 1900, as a 
gift from them, tO' France. She gave active service for ten 
years to the project so dear to her heart, and was ably as- 
sisted by Mrs. James McMillan, the wife of the distinguished 
Senator in Congress from Michigan. In reference to the 
abated interest in this enterprise, I quote from the Smith- 
sonian record : "It was during Mrs. Stevenson's term of 
office that interest in the statue of Washington, proposed to 
be presented to France, was re-awakened. About thirteen 
years before the foundation of the National Society, D.A.R.^ 
an association of American women had been formed for the 
purpose of presenting, in 1900, a statue of Washington, to 
France. The project was approved at one of the earliest 
meetings of the Board in 1890. But as the closing year of 
the century approached, and the sum raised for the statue 
was still insufficient, another appeal was made to the public, 
and a request came before the National Board, which was 
duly recognized, and the interest of the Society enlisted. 
Mrs. Stevenson appointed to this committee, after entering 
upon her office of President General, the most capable and 
influential women of the National Society. This gave the 
work the necessary impetus, which, from that time, went on 
most successfully." 



MRS. STEVENSON 53 

"The result of this patriotic work was duly acknowl- 
edged at the unveiling ceremonies of the statue in the Place 
d'Irene, Paris, at the Paris Exposition, 1900, when the 
Daughters of the American Revolution were ofiEicially recog- 
nized." 

It was in 1896 that an earnest effort was made to unite 
the two Societies, the Daughters of the Revolution, and the 
Daughters of the American Revolution. Upon a motion by 
Mrs. Brackett, "That the President General appoint a com- 
mittee to confer with a similar committee appointed by the 
Daughters of the Revolution, with a view of effecting this 
union," a committee was appointed to represent the Na- 
tional Society, and the joint committee met in Washington, 
October 6, 1896. However, no official action was taken. 

As a small beginning, in 1896, two prizes were offered 
for the best biography of Revolutionary women, written by 
members of the Society. Mrs. Florence E. D. Muzzy, of 
Bristol, Connecticut, was awarded the first prize, and Mrs. 
Clarke Waring, of Columbia, S. C, the second prize. 

The first Statute Book Committee was appointed in 
March, 1896, Mrs. Robedeau Buchannan, Chairman, This 
was a record book of rulings at that time in force. 

A D.A.R. committee had been appointed in 1892 to se- 
cure from the United States Congress a new Charter, hop- 
ing by it to give to the organization a more National char- 
acter than the first, granted under the laws of the District of 
Columbia. However, it was not until February 20, 1896, 
that a National Charter was granted by the United States 
Congress. It was signed by Grover Cleveland, President; 
Adlai E. Stevenson, Vice-President and President of the 
Senate; Thomas B. Reed, Speaker of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and Richard Olney, Secretary of State. 



54 ADMINISTRATION OF 

When I entered upon my official life as President Gen- 
eral of the National Society, after my fourth election to the 
high office, every effort was again bent towards increasing 
the Memorial Continental Hall fund. Mrs. Shepard was 
appointed Chairman, with much the same committee as in 
1896, and served the Society for five years with fidelity and 
marked success. 

In reference to a method to secure a site for the Memo- 
rial Continental Hall, I quote again from the Smithsonian 
records : "The year 1897 was an eventful one in the history 
of the National Society. It was during that year that the 
President General, Mrs. Stevenson, appointed a committee 
to petition the United States Congress for a grant of land, 
'whereon to erect the Memorial Continental Hall.' A bill 
passed both houses of Congress during the second session of 
the 54th Congress, 1897, setting apart for the permanent 
use of the National Society of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution a plot of land 200 feet square." However, 
perhaps fortunately, but to those who had worked so earn- 
estly to secure the site, a most disappointing discovery was 
made, and that was that the United States Congress had, by 
a mistake, granted a portion of the Washington Monument 
grounds, which must, by law, remain perpetually a public 
reservation. This unfortunate situation, however, did not 
in the least dampen or retard the ardor of the President 
General and her co-workers. In 1898 the fund was $11,- 
231.98. 

You will recall that at the Fifth Continental Congress, 
Mrs. Foster presiding, Mrs. S. V. White of Brooklyn, New 
York, brought to the attention of the Daughters the deplor- 
able condition of the remains of the Prison Ship Martyrs, 
as they were found from time to time in the surf or im- 



MRS. STEVENSON 55 

bedded in the sand of the sea-shore. The Congress, while 
greatly interested, took no definite action, and no committee 
was appointed. 

Hence, it became my duty, as well as privilege to appoint 
the first Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Committee, with 
Mrs. S. V. White, of New York, chairman. This commit- 
tee, under Mrs. White's splendid leadership, erected a mon- 
ument at Fort Greene, N. Y., to the Prison Ship Martyrs. 

On May 7, 1897, at a meeting of the National Board of 
Management, the following resolution, offered by Mrs. El- 
roy M. Avery, was adopted : 

"Whereas, There is, in the British Archives, a list of 
all the men confined on the prison ships during the Revolu- 
tionary War, with many facts relating to said men, said 
lists being almost inaccessible ; and 

"Whereas, The United States has a new Congressional 
Library, which should contain at least copies of all docu- 
ments relating to our history ; therefore be it 

"Resok'cd, That a committee be appointed to take the 
matter under advisement and make plans by means of which 
copies of said lists may be secured." 

It was my privilege to have appointed the first committee 
on Prison Ship Martyrs list, consisting of the following ten 
ladies : Mrs. Elroy M. Avery, of Ohio, chairman ; Mrs. 
Newport, of Minnesota; Mrs. Fitzwilliams, of Illinois; Mrs. 
Hill, of Connecticut; Mrs. Slocum, of Colorado ; Mrs. Am- 
bler, of Florida; Mrs. Foster, of Indiana; Mrs. Burrows, of 
Michigan; Mrs. Amos G. Draper, of District of Columbia, 
and Mrs. Depue, of New Jersey. 

This committee, while working with single hearted and 
patriotic zeal, has not yet succeeded in securing from the 
Government the copied list of the Prison Ship Martyrs. 



56 ADMINISTRATION OF 

Among the many movements inaugurated during 1897 
and 1898, none was of more vital importance than the effort 
to protect our flag. In this great work there is one woman 
whose name stands pre-eminent in the annals of this patri- 
otic undertaking. I refer to Mrs. Frances S. Kempster, in 
whose loyal heart originated the idea that the "Daughters" 
should do their part toward protecting the flag. As the 
symbol of the authority, and of the power of the great 
American republic, the Star Spangled Banner should wave 
unsullied in its purity, not a star dimmed, nor a stripe 
marred. It should proclaim, by its silent presence, the pro- 
tecting power of each individual star, and each stripe, the 
mighty force it represents, and demonstrate that together 
we stand, women as well as men, safe under its sheltering 
folds. 

.' It stands to the everlasting credit of the Milwaukee 
.'Chapter, that it took the initiative in bringing to the atten- 
tion of the Continental Congress, D.A.R., and to the Con- 
gress of the United States, from the Daughters, the lack of 
reverence toward our flag, and the insults to which it had 
been subjected. Mrs. Frances S. Kempster, a member of 
\the Milwaukee Chapter, was the first Daughter to offer a 
strong protest against the use of the Star Spangled Banner 
for the purpose of commercial and political advertisement. 
At the regular monthly meeting of the Milwaukee Chapter, 
December 4, 1896, the following resolution was offered by 
Mrs. Kempster, and unanimously adopted : 

"Resolved, That the members of the Milwaukee Chap- 
ter of the Daughters of the American Revolution request all 
Chapters of this organization to unite with them in a peti- 
tion to the Congress of the United States, to enact a law 
providing penalties for any disrespect shown to the flag of 



MRS. STEVENSON 57 

our country, and making it a misdemeanor to place upon or 
attach to the flag any poHtical or other device of any kind." 
Mrs. Kempster was appointed by the Milwaukee Chapter 
a committee of one to prepare and distribute circulars to 
each Chapter in the organization, requesting concerted ac- 
tion in securing from the United States Congress a prohibi- 
tory law, forbidding the improper use of the flag, and pro- 
viding punishment for those who should treat it with dis- 
honor. By December 12, 1896, these circulars had reached 
many thousand women, and had awakened in them a realiz- 
ing sense of the enonnity and the frequency of the outrages 
perpetrated upon the flag; and further, that there rested 
upon each Daughter a personal responsibility for its protec- 
tion. On February 27, 1897, Mrs. James Graham Jenkins, 
of the Milwaukee Chapter, presented to the Sixth Continen- 
tal Congress a memorial, prepared by Mrs. Kempster, and 
signed by seventy-seven Chapters; also, a bill drawn up by 
Mrs. Kempster, forbidding all forms of desecration of the 
flag. Both bill and memorial were enthusiastically endorsed 
by the Continental Congress on the same day. On July 9, 
1897, it was my high privilege, by order of the Continental 
Congress, to appoint the first D.A.R. Flag Committee, 
which consisted of the following ladies: Mrs. Walter 
Kempster, Chaimian; Mrs. James G. Jenkins, Mrs. Henry 
C. Payne, Mrs. Julius H. Pratt, of Wisconsin ; Mrs. R. Ran- 
dolph Powell, Washington, D. C. ; and Mrs. John Ritchie, 
of Maryland. On December 18, 1897, the bill proposed and 
prepared by Mrs. Kempster was the first bill introduced into 
the United States Congress by the D.A.R. As no action 
was taken by the Congress upon the bill, Mrs. Kempster, 
earnestly assisted and sustained by her able committee, con- 
tinued to appeal, year after year, to the United States Con- 



58 ADMINISTRATION OF 

gress, and especially to the judiciary committees of both 
Senate and House of Representatives. The bill has had 
varying fortunes in the Congress, having been passed by the 
United States Senate March 12, 1904; but it is still await- 
ing enactment as a national law. For many years Mrs. 
Kempster continued as Chairman of this most important 
committee, and is still a member of it. Mrs. J. M. Dickin- 
son, wife of the Secretary of War, is now its distinguished 
chairman. In her report given at the Nineteenth Continen- 
tal Congress, 19 10, she quotes from a communication re- 
ceived from Honorable R. O. Moone, of Pennsylvania, 
in reference to the present status of the bill, which was 
recently introduced by Representative Goulden, of New 
York. "In response to your request that I inform you 
of the status of the bill to prevent and punish the dese- 
cration, mutilation, or improper use of the flag of the United 
States of America, I write to say that a public hearing upon 
this bill was held on Tuesday of last week, at which there 
appeared before the sub-committee a very considerable dele- 
gation of ladies and gentlemen advocating the measure, and 
I feel justified in stating that a strong sentiment in favor of 
this measure was created by this hearing. I hope to report 
this bill, with some necessary modifications, to the full com- 
mittee on Thursday of this week, with a favorable recom- 
mendation, and I have no hesitancy in expressing my wish 
that it may be unanimously adopted by the Committee and 
reported favorably to the House, and that it may become a 
law during the present session of Congress." 

While this committee has not been able to compass all 
the reforms outlined in the bill, it has effected a radical 
change in public sentiment. Flag Day is almost universally 
observed. About thirty-five states have adopted laws pro- 



MRS. STEVENSON 59 

tecting the National Flag, most of them with the stringent 
enactments contained in the bill. The United States patent 
office, several years ago, forbade the use of the National 
Flag, or the portrait of the President, or the coat of arms of 
the United States, in any trademark, to be issued, and fur- 
ther, all of that character heretofore issued were to expire 
and cease upon date of expiration of the term recorded. The 
regulations of the army and of the navy, are most strict. 
They allow no inscriptions on the flag, but place them on the 
bands about the flag staff. I am of the opinion that an au- 
thorized revision of the Federal Statutes, four or five years 
ago, gave some further protection to the flag. All other na- 
tions demand respect for their own flag, and that of other 
nations, with whom they are at peace. Surely the time has 
come when the American women can demand that the flag 
that protects them at home and abroad should be held in 
greatest reverence. 

On February 27, 1897, as the Sixth Continental Con- 
gress was drawing to a close, Mrs. T. Platte Foote offered a 
resolution prepared by Mrs. Joshua Wilbour, of Rhode Is- 
land, v/hich was amended by Mrs. Kate Kearney Henry to 
include the name of Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood, with the 
founders, and the original motion as amended, was adopted. 
The resolution is as follows : 

"Amended motion offered by Mrs. Joshua Wilbour, and 
passed, regarding the founders. Amendment of adding 
Mrs. Lockwood's name proposed by Mrs. Henry. 

''Whereas, Miss Eugenia Washington, Miss Mary 
Desha and Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth did, on August 9, 
1890, prepare the constitution and appoint the leading offi- 
cers of the National Society, which were confirmed at the 
first public meeting, on October 11, 1890, and did in the in- 



60 ADMINISTRATION OF 

terval prepare, publish and circulate application papers and 
other appliances for organization, and thus initiated and es- 
tablished the Society, which therefore entered upon its suc- 
cessful career; and 

"Whereas, Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood inspired a general 
interest in this subject, thus founding, by her pen, in the ar- 
ticle published June 13, 1890, that she be recognized as a 
founder, and four medals be awarded to these founders of 
the Society. 

"Resolved, That these four founders of the National So- 
ciety of the Daughters of the American Revolution, viz. : 
Eugenia Washington, Mary Desha, Ellen Hardin Wal- 
worth, and Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood shall be, and hereby 
are, officially recognized as founders. 

"Resolved, That a committee be appointed by the Conti- 
nental Congress to prepare four medals to be commemora- 
tive of the work done by the said founders, the same to be 
designed by a skilled artist, and that said medals be form- 
ally presented to the said founders — Eugenia Washington, 
Mary Desha, Ellen Hardin Walworth, and Mary S. Lock- 
wood — to be retained by them during their lifetime, and at 
their demise to be returned to the Society, there to be depos- 
ited among the valuable historical mementoes of our Soci- 
ety; and be it 

"Resolved, That all expenses attending the procurement 
and presentation of said medals be paid from any moneys in 
the treasury not otherwise appropriated." 

However, at the Seventh Continental Congress, Mrs. 
Wm. Lindsay, chairman of the committee "To Select Med- 
als for the Founders," stated in her report that "This Com- 
mittee recommends that the portion of the resolution read- 
ing, 'to be retained by them during their lifetime, and at 



MRS. STEVENSON 61 

their demise to be returned to the Society,' etc., be changed 
and that this gift be absolute/' This resolution was adopted. 
Most justly and appropriately by this enactment, the dispo- 
sition of the "medals" is at the discretion of the founders. 

As the Sixth Continental Congress failed to appoint a 
committee, it became my duty to do so. It was with a feel- 
ing akin to pride, united with joy, that I put pen to paper 
and appointed a committee "To Select Medals for the 
Founders." The National Society owes to Mrs. Joshua 
Wilbour, of Rhode Island, its heartfelt thanks for her reali- 
zation of the necessity for prompt action in reference to the 
speedy recognition of the enduring services of the founders 
and Mrs. Lockwood. It was Mrs. Wilbour who prepared 
the resolution which gave public and substantial recognition 
of the great achievements of the four distinguished women, 
whose nerve, steadfast and unalterable purpose, resulted in 
the establishment of the National Society. It was a 
happy thought, and one worthy of the grand woman who 
originated it. The response of the Daughters in the Sixth 
Continental Congress assembled, was quick and cordial. It 
was the consensus of opinion that there should be no 
further delay in the recognition of the patriotic work ac- 
complished by the founders and Mrs. Lockwood. The 
following committee was appointed to select the med- 
als : Mrs. Joshua Wilbour, chairman ; Mrs. William Lind- 
say, Mrs. T. Platte Foote, Mrs. Kate Kearney Henry, Mrs. 
Mary Sawyer Thomas, Mrs. Eliza M. Chandler White, and 
Miss Virginia Miller. 

Before the Seventh Continental Congress convened, 
when the medals were to be presented, Mrs. Joshua Wil- 
bour, chairman of the committee, on account of enforced 
absence from the country, resigned, and Mrs. William Lind- 



62 ADMINISTRATION OF 

say, of Kentucky, was selected to fill her place. Mrs. Lind- 
say is an indefatigable worker and an enthusiast in what- 
ever she undertakes, and she, with her committee, brought 
to happy conclusion the work begun by Mrs. Joshua Wil- 
bour. Many beautiful designs were submitted by the chair- 
man, Mrs. Joshua Wilbour, and the committee, to the Na- 
tional Board of Management. The one accepted was of 
gold, crested with diamonds and sapphires, beautiful in de- 
sign and faultless in execution. Upon the medals presented 
to the founders was inscribed the single word "Founder" 
and upon the one presented to Mrs. Lockwood was engraved 
a pen and the single word "Service." The medals were de- 
signed by Gorham & Co., of New York City, and cost 
$1,000.00. It was a service of love, and I have yet to hear 
the first complaint or objection to the purchase. 

In the history of the organization there has not been a 
more beautiful, touching and impressive scene than the pre- 
sentation of the medals to the four distinguished ladies. As 
distinctly as if it were yesterday, I recall in detail every 
event of the interesting occasion. The Grand Opera House 
was filled to its utmost capacity with a brilliant assemblage 
of Daughters, diplomats, national officers, and distinguished 
guests. The stage was beautifully decorated with flags, 
palms, and flowers. Prof. Haley's orchestra played national 
airs, and thirteen beautiful young girls, representing the 
thirteen original colonies, acted as ushers, and added greatly 
to the charm of the occasion by their gracious courtesy. On 
the platform were seated the President General, the national 
officers, the founders, and the committee. The date of this 
ceremony was February 24, 1898, and at 8:30 o'clock p.m., 
I, as President General, called the meeting to order, and it 
was my great privilege to introduce Mrs. William Lindsay, 



MRS. STEVENSON 63 

the chairman of the committee, who, with a grace and dig- 
nity pecuharly her own, was to make the presentation 
speech. At this auspicious moment the hghts were turned 
low, and the wondering audience was greeted by an im- 
mense insignia of the organization, brilliantly lighted, which 
descended from the ceiling, at the back of the stage, before 
the delighted assemblage. 

Miss Desha, Mrs. Walworth and Mrs. Lockwood ex- 
pressed in appropriate terms their appreciation of the gift 
of medals. Miss Washington, on account of illness, did not 
speak. She commissioned Mrs. Walworth to express her 
thanks, and to state that her medal would be deposited in 
the Smithsonian Institute. However, by act of the Seventh 
Continental Congress, the gift of the medals to^ the founders 
had been made absolute. Mrs. Lindsay, with the four la- 
dies, stood on the lower step of the platform and received 
the congratulations of the immense audience, as it passed 
before them, and the curtain fell upon the most memorable 
event in the history of the National Society. 

During the year 1896- 1897 the increase in membership 
was 5,782, a greater gain than in any previous year; and 
during the year 1897- 1898 the increase in membership was 
5,097, and the total membership was 23,097. 

Upon being elected for the third time President General 
of the National Society, I, of course, resigned the compli- 
mentary title of Honorary President General. It was again 
conferred, for the second time, by the Sixth Continental 
Congress, 1898. 



Chapter VIII 
ADMINSTRATION 

OF 

MRS. DANIEL MANNING 

1898-99. 1899-01 

It was as the bride of the Honorable Daniel Manning, the 
distinguished Secretary of the Treasury in President Cleve- 
land's first administration, that Mrs. Manning made her 
debut into the Capitol. Mrs. Manning is a woman of attrac- 
tive personality, stately bearing, suavity of manner, and has 
the enviable gift of being able to associate names with faces, 
an important accomplishment in the social life of Washing- 
ton. With the enthusiasm of youth, she entered upon her 
official life, and without effort soon became a general favor- 
ite. It was during these halcyon days that I knew Mrs. 
Manning most pleasantly. After Mr. Manning's death in 
1887, Mrs. Manning returned to her home in Albany, New 
York; she continued, however, her associations with her 
Washington friends. She was Vice-President General from 
New York at the time of her election. Her election as 
President General, 1898- 1899, was hailed with delight by 
hosts of acquaintances. 

At the Seventh Continental Congress the Constitution 
was amended, so that two years constituted a term for the 
office of President General, and two terms the constitutional 
limit. Previous to this amendment, one year was a term for 
President General, and two years the constitutional limit. 

64 




MARY MARGARETTA FRYER MANNING 



ADMINISTRATION OF MRS. MANNING 65 

Mrs. Manning was the first President General to be 
elected for the two years term, and she was also the first 
President General to be chairman of the Memorial Conti- 
nental Hall ; she inaugurated the pleasant custom of visiting 
the Chapters, which has resulted in awakening greater inter- 
est in the organization. As representation at the Continen- 
tal Congress is limited, many members of the Society sel- 
dom, or never, have the pleasure of meeting its chief execu- 
tive, and the opportunity to greet her and hear her speak is 
eagerly sought. 

Upon the threshold of Mrs. Manning's career as Presi- 
dent General, she was confronted with serious conditions. 
The war clouds were gathering thick and fast. The horrors 
of Spanish persecution in Cuba had aroused the indignation 
of all civilized nations. The humanitarianism of the Amer- 
ican people could no longer endure the detailed reports of 
outrages upon the Cubans, not surpassed by the Spanish in- 
quisition. On April 21, 1898, the United States Govern- 
ment declared war against Spain. The call to arms met 
with a quick response, and troops were hurried to the front 
to compel, by force of arms, acquiescence in the demand for 
a surcease of horrors. 

Without delay and under the wise guidance of the Presi- 
dent General, at the April meeting of the National Board of 
Management, it was decided to offer to the President of the 
United States, and to the Surgeon General of the Army and 
Navy, the services of the National Society of the Daughters 
of the American Revolution. The organization of the Hos- 
pital Corps was effected, with Mrs. Manning as ex-officio 
member of the Corps. A war committee was appointed, 
Mrs. Manning, chairman, assisted by Mrs. Alger, wife of 
the Secretary of War, and Mrs. Sternberg, wife of the Sur- 



66 ADMINISTRATION OF 

geon General. Mrs. Anita Newcomb McGee, M.D., was 
made director of the Hospital Corps; Miss Mary Desha, 
assistant director; Mrs. Caroline R. Nash, assistant direc- 
tor; Mrs. Amos Draper, treasurer of the Hospital Corps. A 
sub-committee of the war committee was appointed by the 
President General, May 26, 1898; chairman, Mrs. Alger; 
Mrs. Sternberg, Mrs. Stakely, Mrs. Hatch, Mrs. Taplin, 
Mrs. Sperry, Mrs. Fairbanks, Mrs. Frye and Mrs. O'Neil. 
Mrs. Hatch was elected secretary of the War Fund. 

"On July 22nd a resolution was passed for the purchase 
of a steam launch, to be used as a tender to the Hospital 
Ship, Missouri, and to be presented in the name of the Na- 
tional Society of the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion, to the United States Government. The launch was 
new, and cost $2,500.00." 

One thousand women were sent out as nurses. Money 
and supplies were sent to hospitals in various parts of this 
country, and to Porto Rico and Manila. Shoulder to shoul- 
der the Daughters worked bravely, heroically and steadily, 
sending gifts of lint, clothing of every description, delicacies, 
pamphlets, newspapers, and everything that could be thought 
of to render less distressing the condition of the wounded 
soldiers and sailors. It was mainly through the office of the 
D.A.R. in Washington that these gifts were sent; however, 
in many places local organizations were formed, and the 
Daughters united with them and sent their gifts directly to 
the Companies in which they were personally interested. 
Many a suffering soldier and sailor found comfort and re- 
lief from the ministration of the nurses sent out by the war 
committee, and from the articles of bedding and clothing, as 
well as nourishment from food and delicacies. 

Happily, Cuba was speedily released from Spanish rule, 



MRS. MANNING 67 

and in the stern arbitrament of war, the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, under Mrs. Manning's splendid lead- 
ership, proved a potential and munificent factor. 

A great bereavement had come to the National Society 
in the death of Miss Reubena Hyde Walworth, which oc- 
curred at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, Oc- 
tober 1 8, 1898. She, with her gifted mother, was among 
the first to enroll herself as a charter member of the Na- 
tional Society ; she was the aid and counselor of her mother 
while Mrs. Walworth was editor of the American Monthly 
Magazine. True to her patriotic instincts, she heard her 
country's call, and at the out-set of the Spanish- American 
War went promptly to the front as a nurse. Nothing could 
lure her from her tender ministrations to the sick and suffer- 
ing soldiers and sailors, until fatal illness compelled her to 
relinquish her arduous task. There were many touching 
tributes to her splendid character and achievements from 
the National Board of Management and Chapters of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Society of 
the Children of the American Revolution, in which she was 
especially interested. Her brave endurance of hardships in 
the discharge of her duties as nurse, her heroic life, and de- 
votion to her mother and the cause of suffering humanity, 
have won for her the admiration and love of every Daughter 
in the organization. A stately monument is erected to her 
memory in Greenwood Cemetery, Saratoga. Upon the front 
of the die in bronze letters is this legend : 

"REUBENA HYDE WALWORTH, 

October 18, 1898. 
She served her country, not as man. 
But better still, as only woman can." 



68 ADMINISTRATION OF 

From the minutes of the meeting of June 6 and 7, 1905, 
of the National Board of Management, Daughters of the 
American Revolution, National Headquarters, Washington, 
D. C, we find that the Government has given the Associa- 
tion of the Spanish- American War Nurses a plot of ground 
in the National Cemetery, at Arlington, and they have 
erected on it a dignified and appropriate monument. 

When the Twentieth Century was ushered in with the 
peal of bells, the clang of whistles and the roar of cannon, a 
new era had dawned upon the horizon of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution. War, with its inevitable record of 
death and desolation, was at an end. Two gratifying re- 
sults had been achieved : Cuba had been released from 
Spanish rule by the united efforts of the soldiers and sailors 
who had met face to face upon many a battlefield during the 
Civil War. In the Spanish-American War, the Blue and 
the Gray had unfurled and fought under the same banner, 
stood side by side as they met the foe, and together shared 
the honors of victory in happy comradeship. In these days 
of dire distress, the Daughters had proven their efficiency 
and their ability to stand like a solid bulwark behind the 
American Government and to bear with fortitude their 
share of active endeavor in the cause of liberty, and of right 
against might. They were now ready to enter upon an- 
other and more pleasing work. The successful efforts of 
previous years had culminated in completed plans for the 
unveiling of the statue of Washington, a gift of the Ameri- 
can women to France ; and of the statue of Lafayette, a gift 
of the American children to France, at the Paris Exposition, 
in 1900. 

The President of the United States, Honorable William 
McKinley, ''appointed Mrs. Daniel Manning to represent the 



MRS. MANNING 69 

United States and the National Society of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution at the unveiling of the statue of 
Lafayette, and the presentation of a tablet for said statue, 
at Paris, France, 1900, and at the exposition there to be 
held, under the joint resolution of Congress, approved Feb- 
ruary 23, 1900." To represent the National Society at the 
Paris Exposition, the President General, Mrs. Manning, ap- 
pointed the following committee : Mrs. Adlai Ewing Stev- 
enson, Mrs. John W. Foster, Miss Eugenia Washington, 
Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, Miss Mary Desha, Mrs. Mary 
S. Lockwood, Madame la Marquise de Chambrun, Mrs. Rob- 
ert Stockwell Hatcher, Mrs. Charles Carlyle Darwin, Mrs. 
Sara Thompson Kinney, Mrs. Mary P. B. Cameron. The 
former Presidents General, the founders, and the Franco- 
American Memorial Committee, constitute the above com- 
mittee. 

The Ninth Continental Congress appropriated two thous- 
and dollars to cover all necessary expenses, and authorized 
the committee to adopt a badge commemorative of the event. 

In the afternoon of July 2nd, 1900, Mrs. Manning gave 
a brilliant reception at the Elysee Palace Hotel, tO' which all 
the Daughters in Paris, were invited. Mr. French, the 
sculptor who designed the statue of Washington, and Mrs. 
French, received with the President General. Paris was 
resplendent in the National colors. The Red, White and 
Blue of America, intermingled with the tri-color of France. 

The Stars and Stripes floated over Eiffel Tower for the 
first time, and the American band, under its famous leader, 
Sousa, played America's national airs. Many residences 
and business houses were decorated with the national colors 
of the two republics, and France gave cordial welcome to 
the representatives of the North American republic. 



70 ADMINISTRATION OF 

On July 3rd, the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniver- 
sary of Washington's taking command of the army at Cam- 
bridge, the statue of Washington was unveiled in the Place 
d' lona. Ambassador Porter presided, and addressed tHe 
audience in both English and French. When President Lou- 
bet spoke the entire audience arose and remained standing 
during the address. Mr. Gowdy made the presentation 
speech. Colonel Chaille Long made the dedicatory address 
and paid fitting tribute tO' Mrs. Stephen J. Field, wife of the 
eminent Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 
who had devoted ten years to the work of securing funds to 
erect the Washington Monument, and to Mrs. James Mc- 
Millan, the wife of the distinguished U. S. Senator from 
Michigan, who' successfully carried on the work to comple- 
tion. Mrs. Manning, escorted by Major Huntington, and 
Mrs. John P. Jones, escorted by Colonel Chaille Long, 
stepped toward the statue, unloosed the cord, and the gift of 
the American women to France, appeared. The address of 
acceptance on behalf of the French Government was made 
by M. Delcasse, Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

The morning of the Fourth of July, 1900, shone bright 
and clear. The unveiling of the statue of Lafayette, the gift 
of the American children to France, was the event of the 
day. The impressive ceremonies took place in the Court of 
the Louvre, a small garden, now known as Lafayette 
Square. The gift to France from the Daughters of the 
American Revolution was a tablet to be placed upon the 
Lafayette monument, and bore the following inscription : 



MRS. MANNING 71 

"This Tablet is a Tribute of the National Society of 

The Daughters of 

The American Revolution 

To the Illustrious Memory of 

Lafayette, 

The Friend of America, the Fellow Soldier 

of Washington, 

The Patriot of Two Countries." 

General Porter, the American Ambassador, again pre- 
sided with his usual grace and dignity, and fascinated his 
audience by the address of welcome, made in both English 
and French. Mr. Ferdinand W. Peck presented the monu- 
ment to France. Gustave Hennoeque, great grand nephew 
of the Marquis de Lafayette, and Paul Thompson, son of 
the projector of the monument, represented the school chil- 
dren of France. The statue of Lafayette, which was not in 
marble but only a plaster model, was wrapped in an immense 
American flag, which, when released by the two little boys, 
beautifully dressed in white flannel suits with sailor hats, 
revealed the heroic work of art. 

Mrs. General Sternberg, chairman of the Franco-Amer- 
ican committee, in her report to the Nineteenth Continental 
Congress, 1910, stated: "The completed monument was 
formally delivered to the French people through their duly 
appointed authorities, on July 4, 1908. The press urged, as 
we were led to believe for a time, that a replica of this mon- 
ument would be placed in a suitable position in the city of 
Washington. But I have not been able to discover, after 
much research, any recent authentic information On this 
subject." 

General Porter introduced Mrs. Manning, and the Paris 
edition of the New York Times says of her and her address : 
"Mrs. Daniel Manning, as she stepped to the front of the 



72 ADMINISTRATION OF MRS. MANNING 

platform, presented a charming picture. Her gown was of 
white crepe, trimmed with old lace, and her white hat was 
trimmed with white feathers and roses. Across the front 
of her gown she wore a broad blue ribbon, a decoration of 
the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her voice as 
she delivered her speech was perfect, and she could be heard 
from one side of the enclosure to the other. She talked 
possibly fifteen minutes, proved herself to be a past-mistress 
of the art of speech making, and was listened to with the 
greatest of attention." 

All Americans, and especially the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, will hold in sacred memory the 3rd 
and 4th of July, 1900. They were red letter days, and mark 
the grateful expression of gratitude to France for her con- 
tribution in the patriotic services of the young Lafayette in 
the cause of freedom, and in behalf of the oppressed colonies. 

As a tribute of appreciation of Mrs. Manning's splendid 
services, M. Loubet, the President of the French Republic, 
conferred upon her the medal of the Legion of Honor. 

In 1900 the Memorial Continental Hall fund had reached 
the amount of $50,366.07, and in 1901 the membership was 

35,092. 

The title of Honorary President General was bestowed 
upon Mrs. Daniel Manning at the Tenth Continental Con- 
gress, 1 901. 




MRS. FAIRBANKS 



Chapter IX. 
ADMINISTRATION 

OP 

MRS. CHARLES WARREN FAIRBANKS 

President General 
1901-03. 1903-05 

Indiana may appropriately be called the Mother of 
Presidents General. Already she has given to the National 
Society three splendid women to guide and guard its wel- 
fare, and promote its progress, Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, 
Mrs. John W. Foster, and Mrs. Charles Warren Fairbanks, 
and "it doth not yet appear what we shall be." Mrs. Fair- 
banks had been fortunate in her training along every line, 
and was well equipped to fill the requirements as President 
General without embarrassment and with ability. She had 
twice been delegate to the Continental Congress, and had 
served three years as Vice-President General upon the 
National Board of Management. 

I recall distinctly Mrs. Fairbanks' first appearance upon 
the floor of the Continental Congress. She was a delegate 
to the Seventh Continental Congress in 1898. It was soon 
apparent that she had parliamentary usage at her command, 
was familiar with the subjects under discussion, and kept 
wrell in hand the proceedings upon the floor. She sat at the 
head of her delegation, immediately in front of the plat- 
form, and her "Madam President General" was pronounced 
in such a forceful, yet pleasing manner as to attract my fixed 

73 



74 ADMINISTRATION OF 

attention. I saw at once that she was destined to be a leader. 
She had a quick grasp of conditions, spoke with ease and 
elegance, and had the gift of repartee which gave a personal 
touch to her remarks. She was an accomplished parlia- 
mentarian, a necessity in the discharge of the duties of Presi- 
dent General. 

As the wife of the distinguished Senator in Congress 
from Indiana, Honorable Charles Warren Fairbanks, her 
social and official position made her a factor in the gay life 
of the National Capital. Her beautiful home on Massachu- 
setts Avenue was the rallying place for the Daughters, and 
her cordial hospitality won for her the regard and affection 
of the members whose privilege it was to know her during 
those delightful days. Nor was her hospitality confined to 
the members of the National Society. Her home, while Mr. 
Fairbanks was United States Senator and later when he was 
Vice President of the United States, was the scene of many 
brilliant gatherings of the notable people who make Wash- 
ington a city of unique interest. 

Mrs. Fairbanks entered upon her duties as President 
General with an intelligent understanding of the paramount 
interest of the organization at that time. She had perfect 
knowledge of the necessity for active effort in the execution 
of the now possible plans which had been in process of 
crystallization since the inception of the Society. Her ad- 
ministration may properly be called the constructive period. 
Into her hands was given the material which it was to be 
her privilege to convert into tangible form, that which in 
previous years had been the ambition and aim of the Daugh- 
ters. Mrs. Fairbanks began at once to push forward the 
actual purchase of a lot on which the Memorial Continental 
Hall should be built, and on which it now stands. She called 



MRS. FAIRBANKS 75 

together the Memorial Continental Hall Committee at her 
home on June 4, 1902. At this date the Memorial Con- 
tinental Hall Fund was $82,190.57. It was at this time the 
initial plans for building were formally adopted. The site 
was purchased at a cost of $50,266.17. A committee on 
architecture, a sub-committee of the Memorial Continental 
Hall committee, was appointed by the President General, 
and consisted of the following ladies : Mrs. Charles W. Fair- 
banks, President General ; Mrs. William Lindsay, chairman ; 
Mrs. John W. Foster, Mrs. Caleb Churchman, Mrs. George 
M. Sternberg, Miss Ella Loraine Dorsey, Mrs. D. D. Colton, 
Mrs. S. V. White, Mrs. J. Heron Crosman, Mrs. De B. 
Randolph Keim, Mrs. A. G. Mills, Mrs. John G. Carey, Mrs. 
Daniel Manning, Miss Mary Desha, Mrs. Ellen Hardin Wal- 
worth, Mrs. James R. Mellon, Mrs. Miranda B. Tulloch, 
Mrs. Matthew T. Scott, Mrs. Robert S. Hatcher, Mrs. 
Mary S. Lockwood, Mrs. Joseph D. Bedle, Miss Eliza Titus 
Ward, Mrs. Charles H. Terry, secretary. 

Professor William R. Ware, of Columbia University, 
New York, was selected as expert, and General John M. 
Wilson and Mr. Bernard R. Green were invited to act as 
advisers for the committee. An invitation was sent to all 
interested in the work to be present on Saturday, October 
II, 1902, when the first ground would be broken for the 
Memorial Continental Hall. The time and the occasion had 
arrived for the first step to be taken towards the actual 
building. The day was dark, and it rained almost continu- 
ously, but that did not deter the Daughters from attending 
the impressive ceremony in large numbers. The tent which 
had been erected over the platform was crowded with the 
National Officers, State Regents from many distant states, 
and distinguished guests. The most noticeable of these were 



76 ADMINISTRATION OF 

Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood and Miss Susan Riviere Hetzel, 
the only two who were present at the historic meeting- at 
the Strathmore Arms twelve years before. 

The President General, Mrs. Fairbanks, broke the 
ground with a spade made of Montana copper, the gift of 
the Montana Daughters; the handle was made of wood cut 
from the pathway of Lewis & Clarke as they wended their 
weary way through the western wilderness, part of which 
is now Montana. ''The handle is to be inlaid with wood from 
other historic spots, and adorned with silver and gold from 
the Montana mines and Montana Sapphires of blue and 
white, the colors of the Society." 

Mrs. Fairbanks delivered an inspiring address and then 
introduced Mrs. Lockwood, who broke the earth upon which 
the beautiful home of the Daughters now stands. A number 
of interesting addresses by State Regents followed. $492.00 
was subscribed that afternoon to the Memorial Continental 
Hall Fund. A handsome slab of granite marks the spot 
where the ground was broken. Presented to the Daughters 
by Mr. J. Veihmeyer, who refused compensation when he 
learned the purpose to which it was to be applied. "A block 
of white marble was sent from the White House after the 
committee had obtained the slab, and it was kept to be used 
in the interior of Memorial Continental Hall. It bears this 
inscription : "From the home of the First President General 
of the Daughters of the American Revolution." October 
II, 1902, was a proud day for all Daughters. There was 
but one feeling, that of joy that the first great step had been 
taken towards securing a permanent home. 

On February 23, 1903, the Sons of the American Revo- 
lution presented to the Daughters a handsome flag, which 
was planted on the site where the ground was broken. This 



MRS. FAIRBANKS 77 

flag floating over this ground secures the legal right of the 
Society to this property, as authorized by the District Com- 
missioners. 

On the afternoon of April 19, 1904, the ceremony of 
laying the corner stone of Memorial Continental Hall was 
performed. The Thirteenth Continental Congress was in 
session. The President General, Mrs. Fairbanks, preceded 
by the Minute Men, the National Ofiicers and State Regents, 
walked to the spot where the ceremonies attending the lay- 
ing of the corner stone were in charge of the Masonic order 
and were accompanied by Masonic rites. "The lighted 
candles on the four comers of the stone and the intoning 
of the service were most impressive. The gavel was the one 
used by George Washington in laying the corner stone of 
the National Capitol September 18, 1793, which was after- 
wards presented to Potomac Lodge, No. 5, and by them 
loaned for this occasion." 

Mrs, Fairbanks delivered an eloquent address. At the 
close of her speech the articles that were to be deposited 
in the copper box were wrapped and sealed by Mr. Fred D. 
Owen, who presented them to the Grand Treasurer, who 
placed them in the repository in the foundation. 

On October 11, 1904, it was again my pleasure to see 
Mrs. Fairbanks as she presided over the sessions of "Daugh- 
ters Day" in the Hall of Congress at the Louisiana Pur- 
chase Exposition. Mrs. Daniel Manning, President of the 
Board of Lady Managers, after making a beautiful address 
of welcome, introduced Honorable David R. Francis, Presi- 
dent of the Exposition, who paid a well merited tribute to 
women as a factor in the success of the Exposition. Mrs. 
Wallace Delafield, State Regent of Missouri, in a most 
charming manner introduced Mrs. Fairbanks, who gave. 



78 ADMINISTRATION OF 

perhaps, the most succinct history of the Daughters that had 
been written. Mrs. Alice Ewing Walker, Vice President 
General, from Missouri, extended cordial greetings to the 
visiting Daughters. Mrs. Lockwood was next introduced 
as chairman of the committee on arrangements. Mrs. Adlai 
Ewing Stevenson was then introduced by the President Gen- 
eral, and delivered a five minutes speech, in which she re- 
viewed, in brief, the early days of the organization, and 
emphasized its phenomenal growth and future promise. Mrs. 
/Kinney, State Regent of Connecticut, the idol of her state, 
\ called attention to the possibilities of ''what may be ac- 
/ complished when women work together with a high and 
(^ steadfast purpose towards a given end." Mrs. Tenney, 
" State Regent of New York, in felicitous terms brought 
words of cheer and greeting from the Banner State. Mrs. 
Lindsay, chairman of the committee on architecture, an un- 
tiring worker until the Continental Hall plans were com- 
pleted, addressed the audience in the delightful manner 
peculiar to herself. Mrs. Julius C. Burrows, President of 
the Society of the Children of the American Revolution, 
gave one of the most interesting talks of the occasion. She 
told in detail of the work of that most important branch of 
the National Society. Mrs. Tulloch stated that the active 
membership at that date was 41,068, and 698 Chapters. Mrs. 
Bedle, Vice President from New Jersey, represented her 
state with dignity and grace. Mrs. O. J. Hodge, State Re- 
gent of Ohio, gave a graphic sketch of the early struggle 
for independence in Ohio. She brought together in happy 
combination the Cavalier, the Covenanter, the Dutch, the 
Scotch-Irish, and the German Moravians, who were the 
pioneers of civilization in the west. Mrs. Rosa represented 
the National officers, and commended their faithful services 



MRS. FAIRBANKS 79 

and noted the high order of talent they must possess to 
accomplish such fine results. "An American Hymn," the 
music and words both written by Miss Mary Isabella For- 
syth, Vice-President General of New York, was presented 
to the Daughters in the beautiful manner for which Miss 
Forsyth is distinguished. Mrs. Elroy M. Avery, the talented 
writer and able editor of our ofificial organ, the American 
Monthly Magazine, gave a brief "sentiment or prophecy," 
which brought the official proceedings of the very memora- 
ble day to a close. 

Many charming receptions were given in the afternoon 
and evening of October ii, 1904. With happy hearts and 
pleasant memories of the beautiful hospitality of the Daugh- 
ters and of the citizens of St. Louis, we returned to our 
homes, imbued with higher ideals of our obligations as pro- 
moters of a larger and broader patriotism. 

Mrs. Fairbanks' eventful and almost dramatic career as 
President General was drawing to an end, but before its 
close she was to perform one more memorable service for 
the Society. 

On April 17, 1905, at the Fourteenth Continental Con- 
gress, Mrs. Fairbanks dedicated the Memorial Continental 
Hall, in the presence of a large and most enthusiastic audi- 
ence. 

It mattered not that the building was incomplete. At 
last the Daughters, after years of arduous struggle, were 
literally under their own roof, and were at home. They had 
each and every one contributed in dollars and in cents, some 
in large gifts, others in contributions by states, of special 
donations, so that every Daughter felt that she had a per- 
sonal interest in our Home. 

At the dedication, Mr. Frederick Denison Owen was 



80 ADMINISTRATION OF 

master of ceremonies, and his arrangement of every detail 
in managing the immense crowd was without flaw. "The 
whole inside was hidden under Garrison flags, evergreen 
wreaths, palms and roses; two Garrison flags draped the 
back of the stage, over which hung the Society's great in- 
signia, nearby two white medallions, lettered in blue, one 
bearing the legend "Home and Country" and the other in- 
scribed "Washington — Organized October ii, 1890." Be- 
low were five bars encircled in laurel wreaths, each inscribed 
with a Presidents General's name — Harrison, Stevenson, 
Foster, Manning, Fairbanks. On the three remaining walls 
were medallions; on the South being "Desha — Flag raised 
February 23, 1903 ;" on the east, "Lockwood — First turning 
of sod October 11, 1902;" on the north, "Walworth — Cor- 
ner stone laid April 19, 1904." 

The President General, Mrs. Fairbanks, and the Honor- 
ary President General, Mrs. Foster, followed by a guard of 
honor of the Minute Men, entered, and proceeded to the 
stage. After preliminary services, the President General de- 
livered her address of welcome, which is given in full later 
on. 

I can close this sketch in no more appropriate words 
than those used by Mrs. Fairbanks herself in a letter written 
in response to my request to know what she considered the 
most important event during her administration. Her letter 
is as follows: 

"I appreciate highly what you were pleased to say of the 
work, which I had the joy to be able to assist in performing 
while President General. I shall not soon forget, indeed I 
never shall forget, the steadfast, whole hearted, enthusiastic 
support of the devoted "Daughters" who came, at my call, 
to decide upon the purchase of the site for our building. 



MRS. FAIRBANKS 81 

They came from Illinois, — our honored President General 
representing that state, — from Connecticut, Massachusetts, 
Vermont, New York, Indiana, Ohio, but it is needless to 
enumerate all the members of the coinmittee. My recollec- 
tion is that there were fifty-four members present and fifty- 
one voted for the purchase of the site upon which stands the 
only memorial to the men and women of the Revolution, 
erected by patriotic women. 

"The events of my term were possessed of the deepest 
interest and many of them of greatest importance to the 
welfare of our Society. 

"In answer to your inquiry as to that work which I con- 
sider of the greatest importance during my term, I will un- 
hesitatingly say that the selection and purchase of our ad- 
mirable site, the breaking of the ground, the laying of the 
corner stone, the building and dedication of Memorial Con- 
tinental Hall in the presence of distinguished guests and 
during the session of the Congress of the N.S.D.A.R. must 
stand pre-eminent." 

The title of Honorary President General was conferred 
upon Mrs. Charles Warren Fairbanks, by the Fourteenth 
Continental Congress, 1905. 



Chapter X. 
ADMINISTRATION 

OF 

MRS. DONALD McLEAN 

President General 
1905-07. 1907-09 

In looking back over the vista of years, there comes the 
memory of a scene never to be forgotten ; the center of the 
scene, one, radiant in the glow of youth, health and enthu- 
siasm; she is still young, strong and enthusiatic, and will 
never grow old, nor lose the ardor of intense interest so long 
as one stone rests upon another in the Memorial Continental 
Hall, or she has the breath to speak and proclaim its beauty 
and inestimable value to women of all ages and in all climes. 
I need not tell you to whom I refer; her name has been a 
household word and is interwoven with the warp and woof 
of the history of the Organization ; she was a charter mem- 
ber of the National Society and has attended every meeting 
of the Continental Congress since the beginning, I believe, 
and is known from the Great Lakes to the Gulf that bounds 
our Southern States, from the rock ribbed Atlantic coast, 
to the smooth waters of the far-away Pacific. Do you know 
her, Mrs. Donald McLean? 

It was with more than ordinary interest that I watched 
the proceedings of the Third Continental Congress, and tried 
to catch at a glance the personnel of each State as it re- 
sponded to the roll call. Perhaps there was no more striking 

82 




MRS. DO^fAUD McLEAN 



ADMINISTRATION OF MRS. McLEAN 83 

incident than that Mrs. John Ritchie, Regent of the Fred- 
erick Chapter, Maryland, commissioned three years before 
by Mrs. Harrison, and her daughter, Mrs. Donald McLean, 
Regent of the New York City Chapter, should both have 
been present on the floor of the Third Continental Congress. 
It was an unusual and touching sight, the strong, forceful 
mother, and the equally strong, forceful daughter, both 
rarely gifted by nature and in attainment. Although Mrs. 
Ritchie had reared a large family and performed the duties 
incident to a hospitable home, she never shrank from assum- 
ing other responsibilities. She felt a keen interest in all the 
benevolent and patriotic undertakings of the day. She was 
a member of the Academy of Political and Social Science, 
was one of the executive committee of the Frederick Histori- 
cal Society, and one of the founders, and one of the Board 
of Management of the Key Monument Association ; and she 
was appointed by Governor Brown as a member of the 
Maryland Committee for the Cotton States Exposition, 
which was held in Atlanta, Georgia, in the fall of 1895. 
Mrs. Ritchie was a woman of exceeding beauty of person 
and charm of character ; simple and direct in statement, al- 
ways courteous and conciliatory. Her counsel on the Board 
was wise, looking toward the elevation and permanent ad- 
vancement of the Society. She allowed no personal consid- 
eration to effect her strict construction of the law, as she 
believed it to be. Her loss, by death, to the Society was 
irreparable, and her memory is a precious legacy of truth 
and of uprightness. 

But to return to the Congress. Miss Louise Ward Mc- 
Allister was the State Regent of New York, and Mrs. Don- 
ald McLean was the Regent of the New York City Chapter. 
I am gratified at this late date, and in this way, to again 



84 ADMINISTRATION OF 

express to Miss Louise Ward McAllister my sincere appre- 
ciation of her many kind courtesies, and of her thoughtful 
consideration for the new President General, evinced in in- 
numerable delicate attentions. 

Mrs. McLean had only to speak, and the presiding officer 
was all attention, and so was the Congress, for she knew 
whereof she spoke, it was to the point, and sometimes em- 
barrassing to those less skilled in parliamentary usage. Mrs. 
McLean had been Regent of the New York City Chapter 
for ten years when she was elected President General, and 
is the only elected President General who has ever held the 
office of Regent. She had attained almost national reputa- 
tion before she came into the office, and was known to the 
Daughters throughout the country. Her inheritance from 
preceding administrations was one of intricate detail. The 
Memorial Continental Hall had been built and enclosed, but 
was not completed. It was her high privilege to execute 
what others had so ably planned, and to see that the tempor- 
ary roof was replaced by a permanent one ; that the pavilions 
or "wings, as they are known to the lay-mind," were fin- 
ished; that the chairs, so important to the comfort of the 
Daughters, were in proper position ; that the "Eaglets" 
(little sparrows that had found their home and nestled in 
the temporary roof) should be expelled; the dark and dubi- 
ous pathway of the plumber, the electrician, the furnace 
man, and all others who burrowed under ground, to ensure 
comfort and safety to the Daughters, were traversed, ex- 
amined and approved ; and other detail work in all depart- 
ments of the vast building properly adjusted and in working 
order, before the close of her term. 

When Mrs. McLean took the conduct of affairs into her 
hands, the $175,000.00, the accumulated funds of fourteen 



MRS. McLEAN 85 

years, had been exhausted, save about $2,000.00. However, 
the expenditure was not without commercial value. The 
site for the Memorial Continental Hall had been bought, the 
foundation and corner stone laid, and the wall erected, with 
a temporary roof. $50,000.00 in cash was reported at the 
Fifteenth Continental Congress, and donations in personal 
gifts and from States and Chapters were received in large 
amounts. This amount was wholly inadequate to the de- 
mands upon the D.A.R. treasury. The President General, 
Mrs. McLean, was equal to the exigencies of the financial 
situation. With a courage that bordered on daring, she in- 
vested in a loan from the American Security & Trust Co. 
to the extent of $200,000.00. This enabled the Memorial 
Continental Hall Committee to meet its obligations and se- 
cure the completion of the most beautiful and perfect build- 
ing in architectural design and equipment in the National 
Capital. 

During the four years that Mrs. McLean directed the 
destinies of the National Society she gave encouragement 
and aid by personal visits in almost every section of the 
country. From the rising to the setting sun, from the 
North, where the Ice Kipg reigns, to the soft, sweet air of 
the Florida Everglades, her presence was known and felt, 
and all the Daughters, little and big, great and small, united 
in singing in her honor, "Maryland, My Maryland," in 
every village and town that she visited. Nor did she confine 
her indomitable energy to visiting Chapters and thus awak- 
ening interest in the organization generally, and in the 
Memorial Continental Hall in particular, but was a distin- 
guished guest and eloquent speaker on many historic occa- 
sions. 

"As President General, she served as an active Com- 



86 ADMINISTRATION OF 

missioner from New York to the Cotton States Interna- 
tional Exposition, in 1895, and as an honorary Commis- 
sioner to the South Carolina Exposition. She made public 
addresses at both above named expositions ; also at the Ten- 
nessee Exposition, and at the Pan-American Exposition in 
1 90 1, at Buffalo. Mrs. McLean was an active Commissioner 
and Vice President of the Commission from New York to 
the Jamestown Exposition. 

"In the President's General administration a Memorial 
building has been erected by the D.A.R. on a Jamestown Is- 
land in Virginia, which building is a replica of the old Mal- 
vern Hall, and will remain as a permanent 'Rest House'." 

Mrs. McLean had the honor and the pleasure of dedicat- 
ing the Portico of Memorial Continental Hall, April 17, 
1907. 

Mrs. McLean has given in such graphic words her own 
brief story of her work as President General for four years, 
that it cannot be improved, and I add it to this tribute of 
her worth and achievements. 



The most important achievements of the D.A.R. during 
the administration of Mrs. Donald McLean as President 
General National Society D.A.R., she considers to be: 

The successful financing of a plan by which New Conti- 
nental Hall could be immediately and entirely completed. 
The practical completion of the edifice and the occupation 
of the Auditorium finished in every detail, at the Continental 
Congress 1909, the adjustment, at most unusual and ad- 
vantageous rates to the Society D.A.R., of a large and effi- 
cient insurance, all these things accomplished, under legal 



MRS. McLEAN 87 

advice and with legal assistance, without one dollar's cost 
to the Society. 

Also, the founding of a Course of Lectures upon Ameri- 
can History to be delivered, at intervals in Memorial Conti- 
nental Hall, such foundation made possible by the voluntary 
and generous subscriptions, of certain members of the So- 
ciety and its friends. 

The Lecture Course has been named by the Continental 
Hall Committee, "The Emily Nelson Ritchie McLean 
Course." 

In 1907, Mrs. McLean represented the National Society 
D.A.R,, as President General, at the Jamestown Ter-Centen- 
nial Exposition (at the same time serving as an active mem- 
ber and Vice President of the New York State Commission). 

The D.A.R. built a permanent memorial on Jamestown 
Island, in form of a replica of an old Colonial Manor house ; 
and in October, 1907, Mrs. McLean presented this building 
in the name of the Society D.A.R. to the Society for the 
preservation of Virginia Antiquities, to be forever guarded 
and preserved as a D.A.R. Memorial, at the "Cradle of the 
English speaking race in America." 

At this same Exposition appeared a rare, valuable and 
interesting Loan Exhibit of Revolutionary Relics from all 
over the Union, placed and cared for by the Daughters of 
the American Revolution. 

In addition to the rearing of buildings' and the raising 
of moneys, Mrs. McLean's administration carried one spe- 
cial incident, replete with sentiment, viz. : the presentation 
of a great silk flag to the U. S. Naval Authorities and Gen- 
eral Horace Porter, in which banner were enfolded the re- 
mains of John Paul Jones, when brought from France to 
this nation for interment. 



88 ADMINISTRATION OF MRS. McLEAN 

At the unveiling of the tablet to John Paul Jones, in 
the Hall of Fame, New York, Mrs. McLean made the dedi- 
catory address by invitation of the Chancellor and as rep- 
resenting the National Society D.A.R. 

She also made an address from the same platform as 
(then) Governor, now Justice Hughes, upon the unveiling 
of the noble McKinley Monument in Buffalo. 

Mrs. McLean was made Honorary President General 
by the i8th Continental Congress. 




MRS. MATTHEIW T. SCOTT 



Chapter XL 
ADMINISTRATION 

MRS. MATTHEW T. SCOTT. 

President General 
1909-11 

This Beautiful Tribute to Mrs. Scott was written by her 
close friend, Mrs. B. P. Marsh. 

Mrs. Scott was elected President General at the Eigh- 
teenth Continental Congress, 1909. 

The year 1908 was a time of anxiety and questionings 
in the ranks of the National Society of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution. The organization had arrived at 
the critical point in its history. Great matters which had 
employed the talents and the best endeavors of the pioneers 
and of their worthy successors through all the years of its 
existence, had reached a climax and successful culmination 
was necessary to the good name, yes, to the very existence 
of the order. Who would be sufficient for these things? 
— the completion and occupation of the great Memorial 
Continental Hall ; the placing of the business methods upon 
a basis to conform to the large growth of interests; the 
management of the official magazine to keep pace with the 
enlarged circulation and increasing demand, and the elimin- 
ation of an accumulated deficit of $64,234.97. 

What woman with the leisure, the wealth, the business 

89 



90 ADMINISTRATION OF 

ability, the intellect and the culture, would possess the devo- 
tion to give herself in the spirit of the mandate: "He that 
would be chiefest among you, let him be the servant of all." 

To the surprise and delight of all those who knew her 
well, Mrs. Scott yielded to the demand and was trium- 
phantly placed in the office. In her, not one of the neces- 
sary qualifications was lacking. From the first, she placed 
all her splendid ability and energy, without reserve, at the 
service of the Society. How well she has not only occupied 
the position, but filled it, the records of her administration 
and the tributes of her constituents attest. Not a flaw can 
be found in her management of affairs, in her courteous 
treatment of her co-workers, or in her impartial justice of 
administration. 

Gentleness, firmness, forcefulness and a certain compell- 
ing power are qualifications which she possesses in a 
marked degree and it was possible to bring them into im- 
mediate bearing upon the situation on account of her ex- 
perience of four years as Vice-President General and her 
long service upon the various prominent national commit- 
tees. 

After incredible labor and patience it was hers to say 
to the Board of Management on April i6, 19 lo — "With a 
joyous sense of the goal reached, faith turned into sight 
and hope changed into fruition, we at last find ourselves 
priestesses in a temple Avhose votaries worship at a shrine 
dedicated to God, home and country." 

It was hers to be the first to stand as presiding officer 
in that completed "Temple of Patriotism," and to welcome 
the Nineteenth Continental Congress, to its home. Among 



MRS. SCOTT 91 

her many apt and suitable utterances upon that memorable 
occasion, were these words : 

"Custodians of sacred, historic memories, and of noble 
traditions of public service, we stand as it were upon a 
moral and spiritual eminence, holding aloft the high ideals 
for which our fathers died proudly and gladly, with a smile 
upon their lips, and which must be preserved pure, unsullied 
and intact, if our nation is to retain the proud title which it 
gained in the Revolutionary days — that of being the politi- 
cal and moral leader of mankind. In the performance of 
this sublime office, my prayer is that we may keep our mo- | 
tives as pure as these white walls, and our deliberations and 
actions as harmonious as the perfect proportions of this 
symphony in stone." 

She assumed an open and resolute stand against taking 
part in any political strife, which might seek partisans in 
the order, announcing her determination rather to devote 
her efifort to the legitimate business of the organization and 
exhorting her constituents to take the same stand. 

She has inaugurated several new departures which im- 
prove the efficiency of department work, and has begun 
the reorganization of the business affairs of the Society 
in the effort to place it on the same plane as that of other 
corporate enterprises. The result will be that the Society 
will be saved a considerable amount annually, which is to 
go into the treasury to take up the notes due on the Memor- 
ial Hall. This valhalla is in an espe:ial way dear to Mrs. 
Scott, as her sister, Mrs. Adlai E. Stevenson, who was sec- 
ond and fourth President General of the Daughters, was the 
first to crystallize the endeavor to collect funds for its erec- 
tion. 



92 ADMINISTRATION OF 

Mrs. Scott has enlarged the scope of the Society's ac- 
tivities by adding the problem of Woman's Welfare to the 
sociological problems already taken up as the special work 
of the Daughters ; and during her administration the Soci- 
ety has taken a leading part in nationalizing the movement 
— now become so popular — for a safe and sane Fourth. 

Difficult cases, requiring prompt executive action, have 
been disposed of without fear and without favor, but with 
such painstaking wisdom as to receive in each case, the 
grateful, sustaining vote of the National Congress. 

In filling the requirements of her office, being in eager 
demand by state conferences and special celebrations at his- 
toric spots, Mrs. Scott has traveled extensively in every 
quarter of our country, followed everywhere by the proud 
interest of her constituents as they recognized her fitness 
to represent them in everything that is womanly, high- 
bred, intellectual and patriotic. 

Two of the most notable occasions upon which she 
gained new honors for our organization were on July 13, 
19 10, when she delivered the annual Paughters of the 
American Revolution address at Lake Chautauqua, and on 
September 6, when, in response to an unusually flattering 
invitation, she addressed the National Conservation Con- 
gress at St. Paul. 

It has been a marked feature of her administration that 
in every address she has so held up the high ideals and 
lofty purposes which animate her own soul as to lift her 
hearers and associates to a higher plane of patriotic en- 
deavor. She grasped that broad view of the work and duty 
of the Organization which led her to express her ambition 
for its higher good in such words as the following : 



MRS. SCOTT 93 

"Mental and spiritual development must keep pace with 
the mighty strides in material progress." 

"Let us illustrate more and more as the years go by, 
how potentially as Daughters of the American Revolution 
we may enter into the life of our nation as an influence that 
works only for righteousness." 

As a result of her efforts she has been able to report to 
the National Board the condition of the Organization to be 
as follows : "Unparalleled growth in numbers, increased 
sense of cohesion and unity, undiminished devotion to the 
highest attainable ideals in home and nation." 

Mrs. Scott's personal interest in and enthusiasm for the 
education of the Southern Mountain Whites has given an 
inspiring impetus to this important work, which it has been 
her ardent desire to emphasize more and more as a vital 
and integral part of the D.A.R. programme. In an address 
delivered before one of the State Conferences, she spoke 
as follows : 

"A branch of our work which is just looming up is 
that of the education of the Mountain Whites of the South. 
Every mountaineer — child or adult — that, in our work for 
the Mountain Whites of the South, we help to educate to 
intelligent citizenship — and many of these are of Revolu- 
tionary ancestry — is a barrier raised against the anarchis- 
tic tendencies and unrest of our great cities; is a guarantee 
for the supremacy of the Caucasian race in America. I 
wish that every Daughter would read and take to heart 
Mr. Thomas Nelson Page's plea for the Southern Moun- 
tain Whites in his magnificent address delivered at Wash- 
ington, before the Nineteenth Continental Congress. I 
come of the old Virginia stock which first passed over the 



94 ADMINISTRATION OF 

Blue Ridge and possessed the Middle West just in time 
to prevent it from becoming Spanish, French, or British 
possessions. But some of the pioneers of Washington's 
time have stayed right there, in that eagle's nest of pure 
Americans, where Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia meet ; 
in the mountains against which Cornwallis' hitherto invinc- 
ible invading column, after devastating the Carolinas, 
dashed itself to pieces, wiped out by volunteer mountaineers 
in that wonderful battle of King's Mountain, which no 
General planned or even heard of until it was over. It is 
for the descendants of these people that we plead. 

"Of the great need, in these rapid modern days, for the 
patriotic influence exerted by this Society, too much cannot 
be said. There is ever present danger, particularly in our 
own country, of forgetting tomorrow the lessons of to- 
day, and the glorious past of our illustrious nation. Our 
Society, composed as we are, of women, lineal descendants 
of noble sires, who rose in preservation of our nation's 
rights, our National Society Daughters of the American 
Revolution, perhaps more than any other influence that can 
be suggested, may keep alive these glorious traditions, and 
make our history so well known and its glowing past so 
vivid and so vital to the youth of today, that the noble 
influence of our resplendent past shall be ever farther reach- 
ing, in the swift growth of our country, and in the assimi- 
lation of other and stranger elements so constantly pour- 
ing in." 

In his address before the Nineteenth Continental Con- 
gress of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mr. 
Thomas Nelson Page referred to Mrs. Scott as: "Your 
honored President, whom I have pride in serving as the 



MRS. SCOTT 95 

best type of the American gentlewoman, high-minded, wise 
and filled with enthusiasm for the destinies of our country." 

Mrs. Scott has been an untiring and indefatigable 
worker, as the story of her stewardship proves. It had been 
the hope and expectation before she entered upon her offi- 
cial life, that the Memorial Continental Hall would be com- 
pleted and the offices removed from 902 F Street to the 
Hall. However, the delay always incident upon placing 
the finishing touches, proved true in the case of the official 
home of the Daughters, and it was not until March 28th, 
1910, a year after Mrs. Scott's induction into office, that 
the removal to the completed Hall was effected. 

Mrs. Scott's record as President General has been phe- 
nomenal. In the two years of her first term, she has pre- 
sided over every meeting of the National Board of Man- 
agement, and also, over all special or called meetings of 
the Board. She has visited and made addresses at nine 
different State Conferences, namely : Indiana, Ohio, Ken- 
tucky, Georgia, Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New 
Jersey and Virginia ; addressed the Chicago Chapter twice ; 
responded to the address of welcome at the banquet given 
by her home Chapter at Bloomington, Illinois, on her re- 
turn June 1 2th, 1909; delivered addresses before many 
other Chapters, made an eloquent speech at Chautauqua, 
N. Y. ; and at St. Paul, Minn., gave an exhaustive and mas- 
terly address upon conservation. On February 22, 19 10, 
she welcomed the Daughters to the completed Memorial 
Continental Hall ; spoke to the Sons of the American Rev- 
olution at their annual meeting in Washington; was the 
guest of many Chapters in Washington, always responding 
to the words of welcome. 



96 ADMINISTRATION OF 

Mrs. Scott has welcomed two Congresses, given an ex- 
haustive report as Chairman of the Memorial Continental 
Hall committee to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Con- 
gresses ; also, reported in full the proceedings of the Na- 
tional Board of Management to both Congresses; made a 
number of contributions to the American Monthly Maga- 
zine ; and last, but by no means least of all, settled amicably 
for $28,000.00 the final account with Norcross Brothers 
Company, Of this most fortunate transaction, Mr. Mac- 
farland said to the Twentieth Continental Congress : "As a 
member of the advisory committee of the Continental Hall, 
and as your counsel in the recent delicate and difficult nego- 
tiations with the builders, Norcross. Brothers Company, I de- 
sire to say that I learned better than ever before the busi- 
ness acumen, the executive ability, and the sense of honor 
and justice of your Society as typified in the President 
General, Mrs. Scott. The settlement which we effected 
as just and as honorable to all concerned, could not have 
been reached if your President General had not possessed 
those qualities. On the contrary, the matter might have 
dragged its slow length along through the courts, and even 
to the Supreme Court of the United States, at the cost of 
years of time and thousands of dollars in money, against 
the interests of all concerned." 

Perhaps the most brilliant and elaborate reception yet 
given by any President General was when Mrs. Scott in- 
vited the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution 
to assemble in the magnificent building, Memorial Conti- 
nental Hall, on the evening of April i8th, 191 1, from 9 
to 1 1 o'clock. The evening was notable not only on account 
of the elegance of the costumes, and the uniqueness of the 



MRS. SCOTT 97 

surroundings, but especially so, on account of the distin- 
guished guests, representing every phase of official life in 
Washington, and almost every foreign country. 

Tw^ice the President of the United States, Honorable 
W. H. Taft, has acceded to Mrs. Scott's request, and 
opened both the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses, 
Mrs. Scott being the first President General from vi^hom a 
president of the United States has accepted such an invi- 
tation. Her introduction of Mr. Taft at the Twentieth 
Congress was in these felicitous words : "The greatest ruler 
of the greatest nation in the world honors us with his 
presence today, and graciously brings greetings to the 
greatest body of women on the face of the earth — the 
Daughters of the American Revolution." 

Mrs. Scott's administration has been a record breaking 
one, in point, especially, of donations to Memorial Conti- 
nental Hall, and of increase in membership. Donations 
April I, 1909, to March 31, 1910, inclusive, $24,326.02; 
donations, April i, 1910, to March 31, 191 1, inclusive, 
$29,238.85 ; making in all $53,564.87. 

Admitted membership April, 1910, 79,713; actual mem- 
bership, April, 19 10, 63,955. Increase for the year 6,955. 
The total membership given at the Twentieth Continental 
Congress, April 191 1, was 87,177; increase during the cur- 
rent year, 6,737. Actual membership 68,552, of which 
1,674 officers and delegates were entitled to vote in the 
Congress, and 1,116 of these were Chapter and State Re- 
gents. From these figures it is estimated that the actual in- 
crease during Mrs. Scott's two-year term, was 13,692, 

On the evening of April 21, 191 1, Mrs. Scott was de- 
clared elected President General for a second term by a 



98 ADMINISTRATION OF MRS. SCOTT 

majority of 148. She carried into office with her by sweep- 
ing majorities the entire National Board of Management, 
and it is safe to predict, that with a harmonious Board and 
with the great undertakings to be inaugurated during the 
two coming years, they will be the happiest and most suc- 
cessful of her official life. 

Mrs. Scott resides in Washington, and fittingly repre- 
sents our great organization in the social life of the Capitol. 




MRS. SCOTT AND MRS. STEVENSON 



Chapter XII 
ADMINISTRATION 

MRS. MATTHEW T. SCOTT 

Tribute by Mrs. Charles JV. Bassett, 
Historian General, N. S. D.A. R. 

The office of President General of the National Society, 
Daughters of the Ameii.an Revolution, calls not only for 
wide knowledge, fine intellectual gifts and a closely discrim- 
inating mind, but for a catholicity of sympathy and a broad 
good will. Mental ability and strength of moral character 
came to Mrs. Matthew T. Scott through descent. They are 
inherent in the pure blood which flowed vigorous and unim- 
paired in her ancestors; they are the blossoming of a life 
and educaiion refined by solid culture and inherited tradi- 
tions. 

Men and women who are worthy to be honored in and 
by this world are not those who seek for honors or recogni- 
tion. Actuated by the highest motive, driving first, last and 
always at the same thing, Mrs. Scott's supreme effort was 
to hold the National Society to its original purposes and 
objects ; to maintain it upon the pure lines of unadulterated 
patriotism and unselfish devotion to the ideal interests of 
civilization. 

Contributing all the wealth of her culture and her 
character to this one purpose, she subordinated everything 

99 



100 ADMINISTRATION OF 

to accomplish this high purpose. This was her mission to 
lis, and by following it with the exclusiveness and persist- 
ence that characterized her, it is clear to see that work so 
constructive, as well as so consecrated, followed so con- 
sistently for four years, has graven her name deep in the 
loving memory of her thousands of admiring Daughters. 

While many may come to us carrying plans and meas- 
ures to successful conclusions, may effect compromises and 
expedients, she has won the laurel ! She has carried a domi- 
nant moral principle into all our organized work. 

How few of us can realize the thought that goes to the 
right portrayal of a single action! Who knows how to 
analyze the mental mastery, the intense application, the 
brooding meditation that brought about such countless num- 
bers of wise counsels from her? They are better than marble 
for a monument, sweeter than flowers for a keepsake, for 
they give us an insight into the woman's spirit, and we un- 
derstand ! 

There were great questions and large affairs to be dealt 
with by Mrs. Scott. The final settlement with Norcross 
Brothers, the builders of Continental Hall, and Mr. Casey, 
who designed it. These matters were handled in such a 
masterly way that they won in the time of settlement a 
tribute from those concerned. Each new field of activity 
developed by a rapidily growing Society found Mrs. Scott 
ready for the duty or the pleasure, the ceremony or the self- 
sacrifice as they came. She enjoyed or performed without 
shirking, without complaint. 

The thousands of miles of travel with lavish hospitality 
and affectionate cordiality and enthusiasm — North, East, 
South and West — in all the State Conferences visited, as 
the official head of this organization, endeared Mrs. Scott 



MRS. SCOTT 101 

to thousands of Daughters, and brought the magnificent 
work of the Society prominently before the cities in almost 
every state of the Union. It was always the Society that 
felt itself honored by its President General. There are no 
surprises to one who has arrived at eminence legitimately, 
and it was entirely natural that Mrs. Scott should be at 
our head and be at home there. 

In organizing so completely a system of division of la- 
bor and responsibility among all the officers and depart- 
ments, the complex duties of each office went on without 
jar or interruption. The Children and Sons of the Republic 
organization developed into strength and vigor. The little 
children who organized under Mrs. Neff of Cleveland as 
the Girl Home-Makers of America attracted the attention 
and gained the encouragement of our President General to 
organize ; while the department of Welfare of Women and 
Children and work for Mountaineers, a branch of Patriotic 
Education, have all had great results from persistent labor 
in their behalf. It is not difficult to understand from a read- 
ing of Mrs. Scott's countenance, of the presence of large 
and various capacities which rank her high as an executive. 

The great social graces of Mrs. Scott were shown to ad- 
vantage on the occasions of the opening of the National 
Museum (Smithsonian) with a reception to the Daughters, 
the reception given the United Daughters of the Confed- 
eracy by Mr. John Barrett, Director of the Pan-American 
Building, and on the occasion of the two magnificent re- 
ceptions given by Mrs. Scott as hostess, with Justices' wives, 
diplomats and most distinguished men and women of Wash- 
ington receiving with her in Continental Hall. These events 
mark that magnificence of hospitality of the Society's Presi- 
dent General, and have been the means of giving to our 



102 ADMINISTRATION OF 

Hall, throug-h its queenly hostess, a place in the highest so- 
cial life of Washington. 

The National Board, under Mrs. Scott's masterly guid- 
ance, grew strong in its discussion of vital questions of 
policy, brave in its utterances when changes were necessary, 
wise in its counsels, courageous in its breaking away from 
precedents which hampered. The Magazine, which had an 
accumulated deficit of $64,000 when Mrs. Scott became 
President General, weathered the storms of indifference, 
antagonism and criticism sufficiently well to plan to release 
the Society by a contract to publish the Magazine outside the 
Society, and by the wise and careful handling of its own 
affairs through years of continued discouragement in 
launching the publication, it has saved the Society thousands 
of dollars of yearly loss. 

The establishment of new National Committees and the 
dedication of the Banquet Hall were events of significance, 
as they marked eras of growth and good will. The Old 
Trails Committee having taken a new significance and glory 
by wonderful celebrations of work done, and the National 
Committee on Historical Research being regarded as the 
most important development in the basic interests of the or- 
ganization, the Congress of 1912 saw the appointment of 
the Revision of the Constitution Committee. This Com- 
mittee was appointed to meet the demand of many, and was 
granted by that wise foresight of Mrs. Scott, who sought 
to enlarge by every means possible that sense of freedom 
and growth and right in the Chapters to decide the questions 
of their own needs before an open tribunal. 

The growth of the Society, unparalleled in its history, 
during Mrs. Scott's terms of office, renders the setting of 
a more definite policy of representation necessaiy. The 



MRS. SCOTT 103 

frank exposition of fundamental principles, in which Daugh- 
ters could unite, has been so consistently the aim of Mrs. 
Scott as to win allegiance warm and genuine. 

With necessary business changes the President General, 
Mrs. Scott, graciously considered the comfort, convenience 
and expense attendant on the long journeys of distant Board 
members, and fixed the periods of regular Board meetings 
quarterly, with monthly meetings for the ordinary business 
of admitting members, etc. For this great thought and con- 
sideration of distant members, the Board was highly appre- 
ciative. 

The contributions were generous for payment of the 
debt, but the plans advanced for additional ways of raising 
money went slowly till the Congress of 191 3, when the 
Block plan, forwarded by Mrs, Scott and the Committee on 
the Penny-a-Day, destined to be known among all Daugh- 
ters — gradually awoke to some show of life and the aggre- 
gate of debt paid was surprisingly large and gratifying. A 
constantly growing interest in this certificate plan promises 
to eventuate in marking this work fostered by Mrs. Scott 
as one of the vigorous and perhaps final ways of clearing the 
Continental Hall from debt. 

In the legislative line two bills were introduced through 
Mrs. Scott's influence in United States Congress. Both 
measures were vital — necessary — and Mrs. Scott's quick, 
far-seeing eye realized the value of action and promptly 
asked Congress to raise the restriction on our real estate and 
personal holdings from one-half to one million dollars. The ' 
second bill provided for the purchase of the land adjoining | 
us in the rear of our building. Mrs. Scott's business ability, 
acumen and foresight have thus realized for the Society all 
the advantages possible to accrue for us through the gen- 



104 ADMINISTRATION OF 

erosity of the United States Government, or in case of fail- \ 
ure to receive said land for a gift, has secured the low price 
of $1.25 per foot for land offered to others at $2.50. 

The day is not distant when the Organization, knowing 
that offices so generously and wisely performed for the good 
of all, will recognize these great services at their proper 
value. We are too near them now to know their import. 

Mrs. Scott has ever used every faculty she possessed to 
forward the interest of this Society. She has put all of her 
vitality, all of her knowledge, into service for the common 
good. The outcome is not yet, but the outcome is as sure 
as the sprouting of a sound seed in good soil. In one re- 
spect the biography of such a woman is easy, in that the 
like speaks for itself ; rich in faith, rich in mind and heart, 
rich in character, and in the affections of all who knew her 
and were worthy of her affection. 

A ready, comprehensive speaker, armed at all points, 
marshalling her facts, presenting her arguments with con- 
summate skill, she was a gift to the Society in her scholarly 
equipment. A woman of wealth, her constant generosity 
and aid in times of financial depression in the Society marked 
her as a helper and friend. Mrs. Scott's administration was 
vigorous, in the highest degree efficient, patriotic and success- 
ful. She enjoyed an exceptional devotion, respect and af- 
fection, as was attested in the farewell occasion of her 
presiding, when expressions of regard, resolutions, thanks 
and gifts of rare value were showered upon her. 

Mrs. Scott cannot be judged except by results, and when 
this conclusive test is used upon the administration now 
closed, Mrs. Scott's name will be spoken with highest praise, 
and deepest appreciation. She believed in the National So- 
ciety and stood by it with a fervor and energy of patriotism 



MRS. SCOTT 105 

which will enshrine her name in the history of the Society, 
as well as in the hearts of all its members. 

In the return home to that western city which claims the 
sister so loved and so honored also with the highest office 
in the National Society Daughters of the American Revo- 
lution, Mrs. Adlai E. Stevenson, Mrs. Scott found there in 
the welcome of friends, the assembly of neighbors, the hon- 
ors paid them both as "home folks" and their tributes of 
loyalty and remembrance the most touching and beautiful 
of all plaudits. Towns and villages throughout the world 
cherish with pride the fact that they have sent out men and 
women who have moved the world with speech and song, 
with picture and with sculpture, but it marks an era in our 
national life when the culture and dignity of our American 
women in public, patriotic service are so fully apprehended 
that they become the glory of our cities and their citizens. 
To be loved, respected and honored by one's early friends 
and neighbors when returning from conquests in the wide, 
wide world, to rest again in the old home amidst its quiet 
and its comforts, is to earn life's sweetest reward. It is 
worth all the years of travel, of toil, of struggle, of effort 
for the common good, to be at the end of the day as these 
two gracious women, our beloved Presidents General, Mrs. 
Adlai E. Stevenson and Mrs. Matthew T. Scott, are, reunited 
as sisters, within their blessed family circles, among home 
friends, with the loving thought of thousands of Daughters 
all over this broad land holding them in memory, as the 
standard bearers and defenders of the ideals which we have 
inherited as a priceless legacy of the past. 



Chapter XIII 
MRS. DANIEL LOTHROP 

(Margaret Sidney) 

Founder 

of the 

National Society of the Children of the American Revolution, 

1895 

It was small wonder that from Mrs. Lothrop's loving 
heart and sympathetic nature should have emanated the 
beautiful thought of organizing the National Society of 
the Children of the American Revolution. The conviction 
that such a move was a necessity, and not a sentiment, had 
taken deep root in her alert brain. None but a woman full 
of tender solicitude for the youth of our country and con- 
cern for their future development along patriotic lines, 
would have given the subject the serious consideration 
which demanded unremitting effort and great sacrifice of 
time and strength. Mrs. Lothrop's fortunate environment 
and habit of life, early led to serious reflection upon the 
necessity of implanting in childhood, settled principles and 
fixed trend of thought. The atmosphere in which she was 
reared was instinct with child love, and Mrs. Lothrop's ar- 
dor in child development was not lessened by her marriage 
to Mr. Daniel Lothrop : "He was a pioneer in publishing 
books and periodicals especially adapted for young people; 
he was called the children's friend." 

Mrs. Lothrop's home is the old mansion in historic Con- 
cord known as "The Wayside." When the house was oc- 

106 











WKF-it- V« 


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MRS. LOTHROP 



MRS. LOTHROP FOUNDER C. A. R. 107 

cupied by the Alcott family it was called "The Hillside." 
The name was changed to "The Wayside" before Nathan- 
iel Hawthorne bought it, and it still retains the suggestive 
name. 

We do not know that it is the veritable "Little Brown 
House" for which Mrs. Lothrop was always looking, in 
which the Pepper stories originated. We can, however, 
readily imagine "The Five Little Peppers, and How They 
Grew," "The Five Little Peppers, Midway," and "The 
Five Little Peppers, Grown Up," at the various stages of 
existence, all clustered lovingly around the hearthstone of 
the fair woman in whose life they had filled such a large 
place. 

At home and abroad Mrs. Lothrop finds herself the ob- 
ject of admiration and affection, not only of the children 
of myriads of households, but of thousands of mothers, 
who bless her for the natural and true interpretation of 
child life. 

It is not, however, of the noted author, so singularly 
gifted, that we write; it is of the revered Mrs. Lothrop, 
whose pronounced efforts resulted in the resolution adopted 
at the Fourth Continental Congress, February 22, 1895. It 
/ill be of interest to read Mrs. Lothrop's appeal before the 
^^ngress. It is as follows: "The time remaining to us to 
complete the work of this Congress is so brief that the few- 
est words possible must be used to bring forward this great 
and important cause of the children and youth. 

"The children and youth of America have a right to 
demand the opportunity to secure all those rights and priv- 
ileges that help forward to a perception and adoption of 
those American principles and institutions for which their 



108 MRS. LOTHROP 

ancestors fought and died. On whom does this responsi- 
bihty rest, that will see to it that the children and youth 
have these rights and privileges which, by reason of their 
youth, they cannot claim and provide for themselves? 

"Surely the women of America are, by their God-given 
offices of mother and sister, set apart to do this very work ; 
and the Daughters of the American Revolution are again 
set apart from all other mothers and sisters because of 
their membership in this sacred cause for which the Soci- 
ety works. I appeal for the children and youth of America 
and I add to my appeal this resolution : 

"Resolved, That the Society of the Children of the 
American Revolution shall be organized and adopted by 
the Daughters of the American Revolution." 

The resolution that followed this appeal was: "Re- 
solved, That the Society of the Children of the American 
Revolution shall be organized and adopted by the Daugh- 
ters of the American Revolution. 

"Resolved, That upon the organization of the Society 
of the Children of the American Revolution it be placed in 
charge of Mrs. Lothrop, Regent of Old Concord Chapter, 
who proposed and originated it." 

The second notice I find of the children's organization 
is as follows : 

"National Society, Children of the American Revolu- 
tion." 

One of the first important measures of the Board of 
1895 was the acceptance of the Constitution of the Society 
of the Children of the American Revolution, which was 
submitted to the Board at the April meeting by Mrs. 



FOUNDER C. A. R. 109 

Daniel Lothrop, of Concord, Massachusetts, President of 
the Society. 

Next, Mrs, Lothrop read the constitution of the Chil- 
dren of the American Revolution. 

April 5 — Constitution of the Children of the American 
Revolution amended and accepted. 

Then came the Charter of the National Society of the 
Children of the American Revolution : 

"National Society 

OP THE 

Children of the American Revolution. 

The National Society of the Children of the American Revolution 
vi^as incorporated under the laws of congress applicable to the District 
of Columbia, April ii, 1895, and by such incorporation, 'The Head- 
quarters, or chief office, of said National Society, was fixed in the City 
of Washington, in the District of Columbia.' 

Honorary Presidents, Elected for Life, 

Mrs. Daniel Lothrop, 

(Founder) 

Concord, Mass. 

Mrs. George M. Sternberg, 

Washington, D. C." 

Mrs. Lothrop served as President of the National So- 
ciety of the Children of the American Revolution for six 
years. 

According to the records, "the first branch of the So- 
ciety was formed at Concord, Mass., on May nth, and the 
first public meeting was held July 4th, 1895, at the old 
South Meeting House in Boston. At the close of the first 
year's work, the membership was 318, with 58 Societies." 

One of the earliest Societies to be formed was the Sam- 



110 MRS. LOTHROP 

Liel Ward Society, of Westerly, R. I., organized in August, 
1895, by Mrs, Lothrop. This Society, co-operating with 
the William Latham Society, of Stonington, Conn., placed 
a tablet upon the Whitfield Elm, in commemoration of the 
historic occasion when the Rev. George Whitfield preached 
in 1747, from a platform built under this elm. A brass 
tablet was erected September 7, 1904, to Lieut. -Col. Samuel 
Ward, for whom the Society is named. Mrs. Julia Ward 
Howe, who was the grand-daughter of Lieut.-Col. Samuel 
Ward, delivered the address. 

One of the oldest Societies in the organization is The 
Little Men and Women of '76 Society, Brooklyn, N.Y., 
organized in October, 1896. This Society, during the Span- 
ish-American War, contributed to the Woman's National 
Relief Fund, the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument Fund, 
and to the Home of the Friendless Women and Children. 
Little Men and Women of '76 Society are the proud own- 
ers of two loving cups, offered for the largest contribu- 
tion to Memorial Continental Hall fund. 

In Washington Heights Park, Wilmington, Delaware, 
there is a drinking fountain, erected by the Blue Hens 
Chickens Society, at a cost of $300.00, erected to the mem- 
ory of Lieut. Clark Churchman, Delaware's son, who was 
killed during the Spanish-American War. 

On February i, 1896, in San Francisco, at the home of 
Mrs. S. Isabelle Hubbard, the first local Society of the Chil- 
dren of the American Revolution was organized, with 
twenty-eight charter members. The name submitted and 
adopted was the Valentine Holt Society of the Children of 
the American Revolution. This name was in honor of the 
thirteen year old lad who rendered valuable service in the 



FOUNDER C A. R. Ill 

War of the Revolution. With bravery and fearlessness 
he delivered the messages sent through him by Capt. Ben- 
jamin Farnham, for whom he was courier. His pathway 
was beset by marauding bands of Indians, and the still 
more dangerous English troops. Valentine Holt came of 
good old Revolutionary stock. His great great grand- 
father, Valentine, reached America from England about 
April 6th, 1635, and took a prominent part in all colonial 
enterprises, and left a long line of distinguished descend- 
ants. "Our little thirteen-year-old hero in his 77th year 
filed his application for a pension for unrequited services 
performed 64 years previously. He lived to round out his 
four score years." 

"At the close of this first year, a badge was awarded to 
the Society at the annual convention in Washington for 
special patriotic work. 

"To Valentine Holt Society was awarded, at the an- 
nual convention of the National Society Children of the 
American Revolution, of 1906, the loving cup offered by 
Mrs. George W. Baird, a National Vice President, to the 
Society contributing the largest sum during the year for 
Continental Hall. 

"The long service of Mrs. A. S. Hubbard, President 
of Valentine Holt Society, of San Francisco, California, 
deserves commendation. Mrs. Hubbard organized the So- 
ciety in 1896, served continuously as its President until 
the earthquake of 1907, after which efforts were made, 
but without success, to bring together again its widely scat- 
tered members." 

It was a delight to the Daughters to again greet Mrs. 
Lothrop at the Nineteenth Continental Congress. She was 



112 MRS. LOTHROP 

there by invitation of the President General, Mrs. Scott. 
She captured the large audience by her rare beauty and with 
her charm of manner. 

On Mrs. Lothrop's return from Europe in 1906, she 
brought as a gift to the Daughters, a book which she desig- 
nated as the Roll of Honor Book. It was made of the 
finest Venetian leather, and by special order, heavy white 
paper was made for it, suitable to the purpose for which 
it was to be used. For $50.00 any Daughter of the Amer- 
ican Revolution, and any Chapter of the American Revo- 
lution, and any member of the Children of the American 
Revolution, could be enrolled, the accumulating funds to 
be given to Memorial Continental Hall. The Book was 
kept open at the Nineteenth Continental Congress until 
Friday afternoon, April 22, 1910, when it was enclosed in 
a mahogany box, upon which Mrs. Lothrop had previously 
had inscribed an appropriate inscription. In closing her 
splendid presentation speech, she said : "I wanted it to show 
the record and title of each member who was enrolled. I 
also wanted to enroll the special thing that each member 
has done outside in the great work of the world's progress, 
so that we could all turn to that and say : 'It is not for the 
sake of exploiting ourselves or our work as Daughters, but 
it is to show that we did other work in the world's great 
broad field outside.' " 

At this date, February, 19 10, there are 130 active Soci- 
eties and nearly ten thousand children have been enrolled 
in the National Society of the Children of the American 
Revolution. 



FOUNDER C. A. R. 113 

The National Society of the Children o£ the American 
Revolution is now an independent organization, but holds 
the closest relations to the parent Society, and most of the 
local Societies are under the care of the local D.A.R. Chap- 
ters. 



Chaptfr XIV. 
MRS. JOHN MURPHY 

Founder Children of the Republic 

When I think of the Children of the RepubHc and its 
objects, a sweet memory arises of the gifted woman who 
first suggested that patriotic work among the children of 
aliens should have place upon the calendars of the National 
Society. Mrs. John A. Murphy, of Cincinnati, was the 
Founder and the first Chairman of the Committee. While 
Mrs. Murphy is properly accredited to Ohio, and her life 
work mainly accomplished there, yet it must be admitted 
that both she and her beloved work have become national 
in character and effect. No one who had ever come under 
the fascination of her exceptional beauty and bewitching 
vivacity could forget her charm or resist her appeals in be- 
half of the cause she so earnestly espoused. Her sudden 
and untimely death were recognized as a serious drawback 
to her cherished undertaking, and her loss was felt to be a 
personal one to every member of the Society whose privi- 
lege it was to have known her. 

Mrs. Murphy's mantle has fallen upon the shoulders 
of her daughter, Mrs. Edwin S. Gardner, Jr., of Tennes- 
see, who is Chairman of the Committee on Children of the 
Republic. At the Nineteenth Continental Congress Mrs. 
Gardner gave the fifth annual report of this committee. 

114 



MRS. MURPHY FOUNDER C. R. 115 

At the Twentieth, she reported ninety Clubs in fourteen 
states — too small a number altogether for the size of the 
organization. By her quiet dignity, perfect poise, and fa- 
miliarity with her subject, Mrs. Gardner won all hearts at 
the Congresses, and she is often spoken of as a President 
General possibility. 



MEMBERSHIP OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE 
AMERICAN REVOIyUTlON 

1892— IQII. 

MEMBERSHIP PAGE 

February 1892 1306 Smithsonian Report 39 

February 1893 2760 Smithsonian Report 41 

February 1894 4710 Smithsonian Report 42 

February 1895 8198 Smithsonian Report 42 

February 1896 12218 Smithsonian Report 44 

February 1897 18000 Smithsonian Report 47 

February 1898 23097 American Monthly Magazine 564 

February 1899 27432 American Monthly Magazine 567 

February 1900 31 192 American Monthly Magazine 490 

February 1901 American Monthly Magazine 432 

February 1901 35092 American Monthly Magazine 441 

February 1902 American Monthly Magazine 1107 

February 1902 American Monthly Magazine 993 

February 1903 American Monthly Magazine 1 161 

April 1904 47445 admitted American Monthly Magazine... 291 

40264 actual American Monthly Magazine 

April 1905 51662 admitted American Monthly Magazine... 222 

42804 actual American Monthly Magazine 

April 1906 56028 admitted American Monthly Magazine... 705 

45636 actual 

April 1907 60698 admitted American Monthly Magazine... 723 

49553 actual 

April 1908 66436 admitted American Monthly Magazine... 207 

53784 actual 

April 1909 72757 admitted American Monthly Magazine . . . 238 

58024 actual 

April 1910 79713 admitted (Proceedings of the 60 

63510 actual 19th Congress.) 

April 1911 87177 admitted (Proceedings of the 

68552 actual 20th Continental Congress.) 



116 



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